Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
1264. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has analysed the increased cost of food production in Ireland over the past five years; if so, the details of these cost increases over the past five years. [1543/24]
View answerThe agri-food sector has faced numerous challenges over the past five years, including the challenges posed by Brexit, COVID-19 and geopolitical events such as the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. These have resulted in a greatly changed trading environment with our closest neighbour, the closure of the food service sector for much of 2020 and 2021, and a rapid rise in input costs over the past two years. These factors combined have contributed to an increase in the cost of food production.
The CSO's Agricultural Input Price Index has increased by 28% between January 2019 and October 2023, the most recent month for which data is available. This compares to a 22% increase in the Agricultural Output Price Index over the same period.
I continue to engage with stakeholders and continue to work across Government to provide critical support for farm families.
