Ireland: Domestic milk intake up 87m litres in October, according to the CSO

In October 2024, Ireland experienced a notable increase in domestic milk intake, with a total of 675.8 million liters processed and distributed, marking an 87.2 million liter increase from the previous year. Despite this growth, the intake remained below the October 2022 levels, with a deficit of 16.3 million liters. Throughout 2024, the overall milk intake saw a decline, totaling 7.66 billion liters, a 2.7% decrease from the previous year.

The quality of the milk improved slightly, with a rise in fat content to 4.93% from 4.92% and protein content to 4.03% from 3.93% compared to the same period in the previous year. Butter production also saw a significant boost, reaching 25,000 tonnes in October 2024, up from 20,700 tonnes in October 2023.

On a larger scale, the European Union produced 160.8 million tonnes of raw milk in 2023, with an average apparent milk yield per cow of 7,791 kg. However, the milk price paid to farmers in the EU fell by 6.5% after record high prices in 2022. The majority of the milk was delivered to dairies, with only 11.6 million tonnes used on farms for consumption, sales, feed, or processing.