Domestic milk intake by milk processors and co-ops across the country was estimated at 888.9 million litres in August 2024, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This figure represents a decrease of 20.3 million litres or 2.2% when compared with the same month last year.
It is also down by 30.1 million litres or 3.3% on the volumes supplied during August 2022.
The data, published today (Friday, October 4), shows that fat content for August 2024 was 4.28%, down from 4.31% in August 2023.
While protein content went up marginally from 3.62% to 3.63% in the 12 months to August 2024.
CSO
According to the CSO, butter production fell from 30,100t in August 2023 to 28,600t in August 2024, a drop of 1,500t.
Skimmed milk powder (SMP) was down by 4,500t, from 19,500t in August 2023 to 15,000t in August 2024.
When compared with August 2023, total milk for human consumption rose to 43.4 million litres, up from 42.6 million litres in the same month last year.
For the period January to August 2024, domestic milk intake was estimated at 6.21 billion litres, a decline of 306.9 million litres (-4.7%) when compared with the same period in 2023, and down by 367.2 million litres (-5.6%) when compared with January to August 2022.
Dairy
In other dairy news, the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index recorded slight increase after the latest trading event on Tuesday (October 1).
The index increased by 1.2%, reflecting an average price of €3,474 per metric tonne (mt) of product sold.
The index figure stands at 1,164, the highest figure in almost exactly two years, since the index hit 1,166 on October 4, 2022. The latest increase is the second consecutive boost in the index.
Of the last 12 GDT events including this week – dating back to April 16 – nine have resulted in increases to the index.
Tuesday’s trading event saw a total of 38,848mt of product sold, with 140 winning bidders emerging from 191 participating, in an event that lasted for 19 bidding rounds and two hours and 58 minutes.