Milk production for 2022 was up marginally on 2021 levels, with milk intake estimated at 8.819bn litres by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

This is an increase of 61.3m litres (0.7%) compared with 2021.

For the month of December, milk intake stood at 277.7m litres and this was a 7.4% increase when compared with December 2021.

Fat content rose from 4.75% in December 2021 to 4.85% in December 2022, while protein content increased from 3.72% to 3.76% over the same period.

SMP

Skim milk powder (SMP) production was up by 3,100t to 10,500t when compared with December 2021, when production stood at 7,400t. This was an increase of 41.8%.

Overall, in 2022 SMP production rose from 147,700t in 2021 to 173,700t in 2022, an increase of 26,000t (17.6%).

Butter

The CSO figures show that butter production rose from 12,200t in December 2021 to 13,900t in December 2022, an increase of 14.3%.

For 2022, butter production decreased from 275,600t in 2021 to 268,700t in 2022.

The figures also show that total milk sold for human consumption (liquid milk), fell slightly on 2021.

Last year, 502.5m litres were sold for human consumption, compared to 506.4m litres in 2021 and 525.4m litres in 2020.

Quotas

Donal Kelly, senior statistician in the agriculture section of the CSO, said that the figures show an increase in domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers of 7.4% in December 2022, when compared with the same month in 2021.

“Domestic milk intake grew by 0.7% to 8.820bn litres during the period January to December 2022, compared with the same period in 2021.

“This is the lowest annual increase in domestic milk intake since milk quotas were abolished in 2015,” he said.