The Border region (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) produced 71% of the country’s Poultry and 25% of both its Sheep and Pigs in 2022. With its high (51%) dependence on livestock, it had the lowest rate of increase in Operating Surplus, which grew by 18% to €480m.
The West (Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon) was the smallest producer of agricultural output in Ireland, generating just 9% (€1.1bn) of Irish Agricultural Output at Basic Prices.
The Mid-West (Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary) was the largest Livestock and second largest Milk and Poultry producing region in 2022, supplying 20% (€594m) of the country’s Cattle, 21% (€1.0bn) of its Milk, and 10% (€20m) of its Poultry output.
The South-East (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford) region was the second largest producer of Crops, growing 20% (€532m) of Irish Crops. It was also the third largest producer of Milk in the State, generating 19% (€935m) of Irish Milk. The value of the South-East’s Agricultural Output at Basic Prices increased by 29% to €2.2bn and its Operating Surplus grew by 36% to €783m.
The South-West (Cork and Kerry) accounted for 31% (€1.6bn) of Irish Milk output in 2022, making it the largest Milk producing region in the State. Milk generated 55% of the region’s agricultural output.
The Dublin & Mid-East region (Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow) was the largest producer of Crops in the state, accounting for 26% (€683m) of the State’s total. This region grew one-third (€231m) of Irish Cereals.
The value of the Midland (Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath) region’s Agricultural Output at Basic Prices increased by 32% to €1.3bn. With both higher yields and dairy cow numbers, the value of Milk production in the region was up by 61% to €461m, the highest rate of growth in Milk of all regions.
| Table 1.1: Output, Input and Income in Agriculture by NUTS 3 Regions, 2022 | €m | ||||||||||||||
| Goods Output | Intermediate Consumption | Net Subsidies | Operating Surplus | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||||
| Border | 1,087 | 1,175 | 1,433 | 815 | 859 | 1,083 | 289 | 282 | 311 | 403 | 408 | 480 | |||
| West | 787 | 872 | 1,052 | 583 | 659 | 799 | 346 | 335 | 364 | 443 | 438 | 523 | |||
| Mid-West | 1,422 | 1,629 | 2,100 | 956 | 1,061 | 1,333 | 273 | 266 | 302 | 574 | 630 | 874 | |||
| South-East | 1,386 | 1,608 | 2,093 | 871 | 954 | 1,245 | 206 | 201 | 236 | 474 | 576 | 783 | |||
| South-West | 1,745 | 2,054 | 2,720 | 1,079 | 1,189 | 1,638 | 312 | 306 | 349 | 733 | 948 | 1,142 | |||
| Dublin & Mid-East | 1,099 | 1,315 | 1,633 | 685 | 754 | 957 | 170 | 168 | 196 | 349 | 468 | 601 | |||
| Midland | 851 | 952 | 1,254 | 637 | 667 | 864 | 167 | 159 | 180 | 177 | 210 | 317 | |||
| State | 8,376 | 9,605 | 12,285 | 5,625 | 6,143 | 7,919 | 1,762 | 1,716 | 1,938 | 3,152 | 3,678 | 4,720 | |||
The value of Irish Agricultural Output at Basic Prices increased by 28% (+€2.8bn) to €12.9bn in 2022. The price of all animals increased, and as a result, the value of Livestock rose by 14% (+€550m) to €4.5bn. Due to stronger prices, Cattle values were up by 17% to €3.0bn. Pig volumes fell by 2% but higher prices resulted in the value of Pig production rising by 12% to €620m. Sheep were the poorest performing livestock in 2022, with stronger prices (+2%) and a marginal expansion in production volumes resulting in the value of sheep rising by just 3% to €377m. With volumes marginally up (+1%) and prices rising by 3%, the value of Horses increased to €315m. Despite volumes falling by 4%, Poultry values grew by 9% to €204m due to higher prices (+13%).
Better prices (+47%) and a marginal expansion in production volumes resulted in the value of Milk increasing by 48% to €5.0bn. Cereal prices rose by an average of 52% and with volumes up by 6%, the value of Cereals grew by 60% to €695m. Except for Potatoes, where a 12% reduction in volume combined with a 7% rise in prices led to the value of Potatoes contracting by 7%, the value of all other crops was higher in 2022. Overall, the value of Total Crops increased by 23% to €2.6bn.
Intermediate Consumption costs grew by 29% (+€1.8bn) to €7.9bn. The cost of Fertilisers (+100%), Energy & Lubricants (+37%), and Feeding Stuffs (+30%) experienced the largest increases. The impact of the higher value of agricultural outputs tempered by greater costs resulted in Agricultural Operating Surplus rising by 28% to €4.7bn (See Table 1.2).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (05 October 2023) released Regional Accounts for Agriculture 2022.
Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agricultural Accounts & Production Section, said: “This release provides a regional breakdown of the country’s agricultural outputs, inputs, and income. While at a national level Operating Surplus grew by 28% in 2022, at a regional level the growth rates were spread between a low of 18% and a high of 51%. The significant spread of these rates can be explained by the composition of farm types within the regions. The performance of the different outputs, their relative importance to a region’s agriculture output and the rise in the main input costs incurred by the various farm types, all affected the regional rate of growth in Operating Surplus.
Best Performing Sectors
Cereal and Milk production were the best performers in 2022. The value of Cereals increased by 60%, mainly due to prices rising by an average of 52%. Milk also performed very well during the year, with stronger prices resulting in its value growing by 48%. By comparison, the value of Livestock production rose by just 14%.
Consumption Costs and Output Values
While the value of almost all outputs grew in 2022, the impact of the higher output values was tempered by a 29% increase in Intermediate Consumption costs for the year. The cost of Fertilisers doubled while the cost of Feeding Stuffs grew by 30%. As expected, the regions with the highest dependency on livestock, namely the West and Border regions, both of whom depended on Livestock to generate over half of the value of their Agricultural Output at Basic Prices, did not perform as well as other regions. These regions did however cut back sharply on their consumption of Fertilisers, which was one of the main reasons they both saw increases in their Intermediate Consumption costs below the national average.
Operating Surplus
At 18%, the Border region had the lowest growth in Operating Surplus to €480m, followed closely by the West, which had a growth rate of 19% to €523m. It is also interesting to note that the West region had the highest dependency on Livestock, which accounted for 52% (€597m) of the region’s output, and it was also the largest producer of Sheep in the State, creating 28% (€105m) of national output.
The South-West, with its high concentration of intensive dairy farming, saw its Intermediate Consumption costs rising by 38% and as a result, had just a 21% increase in its Operating Surplus to €1.1bn in 2022. The value of Agricultural Output in the South-West at Basic Prices grew by 32% to €2.8bn.
The Midland region was the best performing region in 2022, with the value of its Operating Surplus growing by 51% to €317m. This was largely attributable to the region’s dairy producers, as a combination of both higher yields and dairy cow stocks resulted in the value of its Milk production rising by 61% to €461m, the highest rate of growth in Milk of all regions.
The value of the Mid-West’s Agricultural Output at Basic Prices increased by 29% to €2.2bn, while its Operating Surplus grew by 39% to €874m. The value of the South-East’s Agricultural Output at Basic Prices rose by 29% to €2.2bn and its Operating Surplus grew by 36% to €783m.
Looking at the Dublin & Mid-East region, it is worth noting that while it was the smallest producer of Livestock, rearing just 11% (€489m) of Irish animals, it was the largest producer of Horses, creating 28% (€89m) of the value of Horses. The region’s Agricultural Output at Basic Prices increased by 24% to €1.7bn while its Operating Surplus grew by 28% to €601m.”