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Fertiliser prices drop 45% in 12 months, easing pressure on farmers

Fertiliser prices spiked in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent jump in the cost of natural gas

Potato prices have jumped by 75%, according to the CSO. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Eoin Burke-Kennedy
Mon Apr 15 2024 - 12:21

Fertiliser prices in Ireland have come down 45 per cent in the past year, while feed and energy prices were also lower, easing cost pressures on farmers, Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show, even as potato prices surged.

The agency’s agricultural input price index for February was down by 15.1 per cent in year-on-year terms.

The most significant reductions in input prices were recorded for fertiliser (-45 per cent), feed (-14.9 per cent) and energy (-3.9 per cent), the CSO said. However, potato prices jumped more than 75 per cent.

Fertiliser prices spiked in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent jump in the cost of natural gas, a key element for most nitrogen-based fertilisers. Falling input prices have prompted a similar decline in output prices, which typically impact food prices for consumers.

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The CSO’s agricultural output price index was down by 7.6 per cent in the 12 months to February.

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The most significant output price decreases were in cereals (-31.6 per cent), milk (-16.6 per cent), and poultry (-3.5 per cent). There were, however, increases in potatoes, sheep (+18.4 per cent) and vegetables (+13.1 per cent).

On a monthly basis the output price index for February rose by 2.3 per cent. The most significant monthly change was in the price of milk, which increased by 6 per cent.

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times

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