Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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617. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address the increase in the cost of production of milk products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15566/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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At the outset I will state, as Minister for Agriculture I do not have a role in setting or controlling prices for any commodity. My Department does however, as part of its role in supporting the sector, monitor developments in prices received and costs borne by Irish farmers. The Central Statistics Office reports in Agricultural Outputs, trends in prices paid to farmers for their produce, and Agricultural Input, prices paid by farmers for purchases of goods and services, on a monthly basis.

Over the 12 months to January 2025, the overall Agricultural Output Price Index (i.e. prices) rose by over 20%. The first monthly indications for 2025 are positive with Output Prices rising by 2% compared to the previous January and input costs falling by almost 5%.

At present, the current trends for dairy farmers are positive with regard to input prices and output prices. Milk experienced a significant Agricultural Output Price increase of 33.6% in the 12-month period to January 2025. In the same period, the price of agricultural inputs fell by 3.7%, with notable reductions in the prices of electricity at over 8%, feed at over 7% and fertilisers at almost 7%.

The value of Agricultural Output rose by 8% to 12.2bn in 2024. This was driven mainly by a 17% increase in milk prices as milk accounts for one-third of the value of Agricultural Output overall.

These trends can however change, and my Department closely monitors them reflecting the volatile nature of input and output prices in the agri-food sector.

I will continue to work with dairy farmers and industry stakeholders and our state bodies, including Teagasc and Bord Bia, to address current and future challenges in the development of the sector and to create new and diverse market opportunities for dairy produce. 

Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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618. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide figures relating to overall Irish agri-food exports to the USA and the EU, broken down by food type, during 2023 and 2024, in tabular form. [15581/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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According to the most recent Central Statistics Office trade statistics, the US accounted for 10.3% of Irish agri-food exports by value in 2024, up from 8.7% in 2023. EU countries accounted for 33.7% of agri-food exports by value in both 2024 and 2023. Total agri-food exports are estimated at €19.239 billion for 2024, an increase of an increase of over €1 billion, or 6%, on the €18.137 billion achieved in 2023.

Central Statistics Office trade statistics for the US and the EU, full-year 2023 and full-year 2024 by category, are provided in the tables below. All figures provided for 2024 are preliminary and are subject to adjustment in 2025.

In addition to agri-food export categories, exports of Irish Prepared Consumer Foods (PCF) - value-added foods and beverages - to the US amounted to €133.1 million in 2024, an increase of 4% by value on the €127.9 million achieved in 2023. PCF exports to the US accounted for 3.8% of total PCF exports in 2023 and 3.7% of total PCF exports in 2024. For both years, the top 3 PCF US export categories were Chocolate-based preparations, Other Food Preparations and Extracts, Sauces and Soups.

Additionally, exports of Irish Prepared Consumer Foods to EU countries amounted to €928.5 million in 2024, a decrease of 0.5% by value on the €933.6 million achieved in 2023. PCF exports to the EU accounted for 28% of total PCF exports in 2023 and 26% of total PCF exports in 2024. For both years, the top 3 PCF export categories by value were Meat preparations, Other Food Preparations and Sugar-based products.