prices,
Milk Production,
fall in production
Irish milk production continues to fall
The most recent figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that Irish milk production continued to fall in 2017, with production in February dropping by 7.8% compared with the same month in 2016.
Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 264.8m litres for February 2017. This represented a decrease of 22.3m litres compared with the previous February (2016).
The level of milk production decreased from 434.7m litres in January of this year to 413.5m litres in February. This equated to a month-to-month decrease of 4.9%.
The year-to-year decreases (in milk production) follow on from a fall in production of 4.6% in the first month of 2017 (compared with same month in 2016).
When comparing February 2017 to the corresponding month in 2016, the total milk sold for human consumption decreased by 4.9 % to 39.4m litres, according to the CSO.
Meanwhile, butter production also dropped by 11.5 % to 8,200t.