Energy costs to farmers and others in the agricultural sector rose by more than 60% in the year to end-June, according to the latest price indices from the CSO.

Overall, the price of inputs in agriculture rose by 40.2% in the year, while the output price index for the same period rose by just 29.8%, and the annual terms of trade fell 7.5 points compared to June last year, from 105.7 to 97.8.

The most significant input price increases were for fertilisers, which were up 144.7%, energy prices which rose by 60.2%, and feed prices which are up 32.2% in the year.

Central Statistics Office statistician Anthony Dawson said: "For June 2022, the most notable change is in the price of energy, where the price index has increased by 7.6% since May 2022 and by 60.2% in the year from June 2021.

“This trend of input price increases is also seen in fertiliser and feed prices which are up 144.7% and 32.2% respectively in the year. Increases can also be seen in the output price sub-indices where the price of milk has risen by 44.9% in the year, while cattle prices have increased by more than 27% annually.

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“More generally, the monthly agricultural output price index is up 1.7% and input price index is down by 0.1% in the month from May 2022 to June 2022.

A more detailed look at the monthly output sub-indices shows increases in pig prices and cattle prices (+2.2%), while the monthly input sub-indices showed growth in energy prices (+7.6%) but a reduction in the price of fertilisers (-6.3%). As a result, the terms of trade for June 2022 was up by 1.6%.

“Annually, the Agricultural Input Prices Index is up 40.2% while the Output Price Index is up 29.8%. The resulting annual change in the terms of trade was — down 7.5%.”