Irish dairy exports increased by 10% or 61,479 tonnes (t) to 658,217t to the end of May.

There is an even greater increase in the value, up 22% or €498.7m to over €2.7bn in the first five months of 2025 compared with the same period last year (source: Bord Bia).

Butter exports were a major contributor to this growth, with volumes up 21% to 100,725t with higher butter prices driving the value up a significant 56% or €271m to €752.5m.

ADVERTISEMENT

Butter sales to the US ahead of threatened tariffs increased by 3,810 tonnes and €56.2m.

Cheese volumes were up just over 13% or almost 13,000t at 111,284t and were worth €588.4m for the first five months of the year.

This was a 25% or €118.4m increase in value compared with the same period last year.

Full fat milk powder volumes were up 5.5% or 7,166t to 136,936t, with the value increasing by 7% to €383m.

Skimmed milk powder volumes were also up, rising by over 19% or 10,635t to 66,387t with the value up 26.5% to €183.4m.

While most categories increased in volume and value, infant food exports were the exception.

They recorded a drop in both volume and value, with volume down over 15% to 41,634t, while the value fell by over 16% to €298.3m.

Data released this week in DCA Market Intelligence shows that EU dairy trade fell for the month of May, down 2.6% or 73m kg (70.8m litres) in liquid milk equivalents (LME).

However, there was a huge variance between the dairy categories.