Wholesale food prices fall for first time in two years
In the month, producer food prices dropped by 0.7%
Annual producer prices for food products have fallen for the first time since June 2021, dropping by 2.4% in the month of May according to latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
Key food products including vegetable & animal oils and dairy fell by 9.3% and 8.8% respectively, with the overall food, beverage and tobacco index dropping by 1.1% in the twelve months to May 2023.
However, a number of food products are still exhibiting high prices, with fruit & vegetables and fish products rising by more than 17% and 13% respectively year-on-year.
In the month, producer food prices dropped by 0.7%, with CSO statistician, Jillian Delaney adding that dairy fell by more than 7% compared to April, with vegetable and animal oils down by more than 5%.
Latest figures also show consistent decreases in wholesale electricity, which fell by a further 16% compared to the previous month and by 26% in the twelve months to May this year. However, wholesale prices remain around three times what they were in 2020.
Despite persistent wholesale reductions over the past five months, retail prices have remained high for consumers, with Darragh Cassidy of Bonkers.ie warning there will need to be a few more months of falling wholesale prices before they are passed onto households.
"Gas and electricity prices would need to fall by between 50% and 60% on average to bring them back to the level they were at in 2020. And even then they weren’t exactly cheap. So further Government support will be needed for this winter."
"But I’m hopeful we might see some moderate price decreases of between 10% and 20% for gas and electricity customers before the year is out."
In addition, food prices have remained notably sticky despite three consecutive months of wholesale price decreases, with Minister Neale Richmond saying more can be done following price cuts across 700 products, adding that he would be writing to retailers in August looking for proof of further price cuts before the Retail Forum meets in September.
It comes as Ireland is now the most expensive country in the EU with Irish consumers paying more for goods, services, and alcohol and tobacco than anyone else in the union.
In the month, construction products were down by 0.8% despite increasing by 9.1% annually. Similarly, the building and construction (i.e. materials and wages) index fell by 0.4% in the month but was 6.3% higher than the same month last year.
Plaster has risen by more than 35% in the last twelve months, with steel fabricated metal up by 32%. In the same time, however, treated timber and structural steel have both fallen by more than 30%.
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