Electricity costs for farmers up over 62% in a year

Feed costs have increased by 21.2% in March this year compared to last, while seeds were up 7.1%, and plant protection products and veterinary expenses were both up 6.1%

The agricultural input price index rose by 7.7% in the year to March 2023.

Electricity costs for farmers increased by 62.7% in the 12-month period to March, latest CSO figures show.

The agricultural input price index rose by 7.7% in the year to March 2023.

Feed costs have increased by 21.2% in March this year compared to last, while seeds were up 7.1%, plant protection products and veterinary expenses were both up 6.1%, while fertiliser dropped slightly by 2.8%, and there was an overall drop recorded in energy prices of 4.7%.

Meanwhile, the agricultural output price index was up 8.1% in the 12 months to March 2023.

The most significant output price increases can be seen in pig prices, which were up 52.2% in the year to March 2023, cereal prices (47.5%), egg prices (30%), and poultry prices (16.4%).

The annual terms of trade rose by 0.3% when compared with March 2022.

Monthly changes

On a monthly basis, the output price index decreased by 3.8% when compared with February 2023.

The input price index for March 2023 was down by 1.3% in comparison with February 2023.

The monthly terms of trade fell by 2.5% in March 2023 when compared with the previous month.

Commenting on the CSO release, Grzegorz Głaczyński, statistician in the agriculture division said that the most significant monthly changes in output prices were recorded in the price of milk which fell by 11.7%, while pig prices increased by 9.2%.

He added that the monthly input price sub-indices show a decline of 5.9% in fertiliser prices.