Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 770.4m litres in September 2023, a decrease of 15.2m litres when compared with September 2022.

This is a drop of 1.9% compared with the same time last year.

Fat content dropped marginally from 4.56% in September 2022 to 4.55% in September 2023, while protein content increased from 3.75% in September 2022 to 3.77% in September 2023.

Butter production

Butter production was up 6.6% from 23,700t in September 2022 to 25,300t in September 2023.

Skim milk powder production was 13,000t in September 2023 in comparison with 13,200 tonnes in September 2022.

In the nine months from January to September 2023, domestic milk intake was estimated at 7,289.5m litres, a decline of 75.5m litres (-1.0%) when compared with the corresponding period for 2022, and down by 94.9m litres (-1.3%) when compared with September 2021.