Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 152: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the extent to which food prices have increased or reduced in the past five years at retail outlets; the degree to which prices have fluctuated to the producer in the same period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7347/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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According to the Central Statistics Office, in the 5-year period covering the years 2003 to 2007 inclusive, the food price index has recorded a consistently lower level of increase than the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI). Food prices increased by 3.3% over that period while overall prices as measured by CPI increased by 14.1%. The most recent annual data available from the Central Statistics Office relates to 2007 when food and non-alcoholic beverages prices, as measured by the food price index, increased by 2.8% on average during that year. This is a lower level of increase than the overall annual rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, which averaged 4.9% during the same year.

Prices paid to the producer are measured through agricultural output price indices (API). In the five-year period between November 2002 and November 2007, (the most recent month for which data is available) the total index for agricultural output prices increased by almost26%, with significant variations between commodities over the period. For example, these indices increased by 20% for cattle, 34% for milk and over 100% for cereals during the period.