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You can tell a lot about the farming year by looking at the dinner in front of you. The size of your vegetables, the price of the ham or the availability of certain fruits in your pudding can reveal a lot. Here’s what this year’s dinner tells us about 2019.
There has been an increase in the number of Irish-reared turkeys this year, according to Robert Malone, the IFA’s pigs and poultry committee executive. This has cut the number of imports to 200,000. “These are mostly of Italian origin and go to the foodservice and butcher trade in Ireland,” he said.
“There is a gradual move away from more expensive free-range turkeys to feed larger families and a corresponding increase in commercial turkey production which produces smaller birds, over the past number of years.”
As Irish pig numbers were down by 4% this year and demand for pork increased internationally due to African swine fever (ASF), Irish consumers can expect to pay more for the Christmas ham this year.
Prices can range from an average of €19/kg to €35/kg for ham on the bone, although differing cuts and retailers can lead to large variations on the price. Craft butcher Seamus Etherson said: “Half of our orders would now be for boneless turkey. There is a rise on speciality meats such as rib roast on the bone.”
Due to wet conditions, potato growers say 10% of their crop remains unharvested. In the Dublin-Louth area, as much as 30-40% remains in the ground. Latest IFA figures show that Roosters and Whites are averaging at €350/t.
Bord Bia reports that 700t of sprouts will be making it on to Irish plates this year. Current wholesale market prices show that 1kg of Irish sprouts is €1.77, up from €1.50 in the same week in 2018, although farmer’s returns may not reflect this due to heavy discounting.
Tillage and horticulture farmer Julian Hughes said that both carrots and parsnips were back about 20% this year due to drought conditions during peak growing season. “I would take 2018 conditions over 2019 any day, carrots and parsnips rely on deep ground water, but it just wasn’t there this year,” he said. The wholesale price of carrots has dropped this year compared to 2018, falling from €6.50/10kg to €4/10kg. Parsnips fell from €8.50 in 2018 to €7 for a 5kg bag.
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