Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 246: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the extent to which food prices have increased or reduced in the past four years at retail outlets; the degree to which prices have fluctuated to the producer in the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20686/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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According to the Central Statistics Office, in the 4-year period covering the years 2005 to 2008 inclusive, the food price index has recorded a slightly lower level of increase than the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI). Food prices increased by 11.1% over that period while overall prices as measured by CPI increased by 13.5%.

The most recent annual data available from the Central Statistics Office relates to 2008 when food and non-alcoholic beverages prices, as measured by the food price index, increased by 6.5% on average during that year. This is a higher level of increase than the overall annual rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, which averaged 4.1% during the same year.

Prices paid to producers are measured through agricultural output price indices (API). In the four-year period in question the total index for agricultural output prices increased by approximately 19.6%, with significant variations between commodities over the period. For example, these indices increased by 21% for cattle, 20.5% for milk and 37.8% for cereals during the period.