The seasonally adjusted output price index for agricultural products fell by 3.4 per cent in August 2001, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office this morning.
Decreases in prime cattle, store cattle, sheep, milk and potatoes offset increases in cows for slaughter and poultry.
Comparing the August 2001 indices with August 2000 shows that:
- The price of feeding stuffs were up 4.4 per cent, fertilizers were up 9.1 per cent while energy prices were down 3.0 per cent.
- The price of sheep, pigs, potatoes and milk were up 45.0 per cent, 12.0 per cent and 35.9 per cent and per cent respectively, while cattle were down 16.3 per cent.
The figures also show that agriculture income increased by £127m in 2000 to £1,824m in 2000, representing an increase of 7.5 per cent over 1999.