Producer prices for dairy products fell back by 23.7% over the 12-month period to March 2024, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The wholesale price index for 2024 shows that for food products overall, producer prices fell by 9.1% in that 12-month period.
Apart from the decrease for dairy products, a slight decrease of 0.3% was also noted for meat and meat products in that period.
Decreases in producer prices were also recorded for vegetable and animal oils and fats (down 6%) and grain milling, starches and animal feeds (down 6.8%).
Some products saw increases in producer prices, including fish and fish products (up 7.1%), while bakery products increased very slightly by 0.3% in the 12-month reference period.
Producer prices for fruit and vegetable products were unchanged, while other food products, which weren’t categorised with any of the above, decreased by 11.5%.
The producer price index for beverages increased by 8.9%, while the index for wood and wood products fell by 10.5%.
Outside of the agri-food and forestry sectors, wholesale electricity prices were down 40.3% annually from March 2023 to March 2024, and down 70.4% over two years compared to March 2022.
The overall energy index decreased by 31.9% when compared to March 2023.
This is despite increases in prices of fuel (petrol, autodiesel, gas oil, and fuel oil) of between 2.3% and 8.9%.
Wholesale prices for construction products saw a slight decrease of 0.3% over the 12 months to March, with a wide range of decreases and increases in the relevant sub-categories; for example, prices for stone, sand, and gravel increased by 12.5% in that period, but prices for treated timber decreased by 31.6%.
In terms of capital goods, prices for such goods used in agriculture and industry increased by 4.3%, and prices of transportable capital for use in agriculture increased by 3.1% from March 2023 to March 2024.