The average price of a kilogram of striploin steak fell by 6.1% from €22.10 to €20.76 in the space of a year, according to the latest statistics from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

While steak prices fell between 2017 and 2018, there were more positive trends for dairy products. The price of a pound of butter rose by almost 6% to €3.03/lb. Two litres of full fat milk saw a marginal increase to €1.70, while cheddar cheese had a small drop in price to €9.83/kg.

On the back of a difficult harvest during the drought in 2018, the cost of a 2.5kg bag of potatoes rose to €3.31, up 4%. Elsewhere, on the horticulture front, the price of broccoli tumbled by 6% to €2.72/kg and the price of mushrooms fell by a similar percentage to €3.74/kg.

Fish had a mixed year as the price of smoked salmon surged to €31.49/kg, up 7.5% from €29.30/kg. However, the price of fresh hake slipped to €14.20/kg, down 2.1%.

Pint price

The price of a pint rose, with draught stout costing Irish consumers €4.55 in 2018 compared to €4.43 in 2017. The cost of a gent’s haircut in 2018 was €12.68, up nearly 5%.

Prices at the pumps rose as well. Diesel, on average, cost an extra 9c at €1.34/l while petrol prices increased by 7c to €1.43/l.

The CSO tracks the changes in price of the goods and services Irish consumers are purchasing as part of the consumer price index (CPI). Food prices are collected from supermarkets, small shops, speciality shops and petrol station forecourt outlets but exclude meals out.

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