Ireland’s dairy industry produced almost 530,000t of butter and cheese in 2019, according to new figures from the CSO. As milk production continues to expand in Ireland post milk quotas, the volume of dairy product being processed by co-ops is also growing to record levels. For 2019, the Irish dairy industry produced just under 280,000t of cheese – an all-time record. Irish cheese production grew by 3%, or almost 10,000 tonnes, last year. Cheese production volumes closely follow Ireland’s seasonal milk curve with the majority of Irish cheese made from April to September.
Ireland’s dairy industry produced almost 530,000t of butter and cheese in 2019, according to new figures from the CSO. As milk production continues to expand in Ireland post milk quotas, the volume of dairy product being processed by co-ops is also growing to record levels.
For 2019, the Irish dairy industry produced just under 280,000t of cheese – an all-time record. Irish cheese production grew by 3%, or almost 10,000 tonnes, last year. Cheese production volumes closely follow Ireland’s seasonal milk curve with the majority of Irish cheese made from April to September.
Butter growth
Meanwhile, butter production also grew strongly in 2019. Irish co-ops produced a record 251,000t of butter last year, which was up 5%, or almost 13,000t, on the previous year. Ireland has now cemented itself as the largest butter exporter in Europe having shipped more than 50,000t of butter to international export markets last year.
The CSO figures also show that the volume of skimmed milk powder (SMP) being produced in Ireland also continues to grow. For 2019, the Irish dairy industry produced 142,500t of SMP, which was up 7%, or almost 9,000t, on the previous year. Over half of Ireland’s SMP is produced during our peak milk supply months from April to July.
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