Food prices for consumers increased by 2% in the 12 months to June 2024, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
According to the CSO, the overall EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for Ireland is estimated to have increased by 1.5% across all sectors in the 12 months to June, and increased by 0.3% compared to May 2024.
Of those consumer prices, the food component saw a 2% rise year-on-year, although it fell marginally by 0.1% month-on-month.
Meanwhile, energy prices for consumers have decreased by 5.6% over the 12 months to June 2024, and fell by 1% compared to May 2024.
When unprocessed food and energy are excluded from the HICP for Ireland, the annual change of inflation is 2.3%, compared to 1.5% when they are included.
Transport prices, meanwhile, have gone up by 0.8% in the month and by 5.2% over the 12 months to June.
The annual rate of consumer price inflation in Ireland is notably lower than the Eurozone as a whole, which saw inflation increase by 6% annually.
A more detailed breakdown of consumer prices and inflation rates are expected to be published by the CSO and Eurostat (The EU’s statistics agency) later this month.
Agri-food prices
Meanwhile, Eurostat has published new statistics for both agricultural outputs and inputs in the EU for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.
The data shows that the average price of agricultural outputs fell by 6% in the first quarter of 2024, when compared with the same period in the previous year.
At the same time, the average cost of agricultural inputs, not related to investment, decreased by 11% in the same timeframe.
Eurostat noted that there were “sharp increases in agricultural prices during 2021 and the first three quarters of 2022”.
Following this, the agency said that the pace of growth slowed and prices began to decline.
The data shows that the price changes for outputs in the first three months of this year were “varied and contrasting”.