1.5 Agricultural Accounts in Ireland

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has published the Final Estimate on Output, Input and Income (OII) in Agriculture for 2022. The OII outlines the performance of the primary producers in agriculture, providing details on the value of output at producer prices or at the farm gate, the cost of inputs, and the overall income or operating surplus in agriculture. In 2022, the operating surplus in agriculture was €4.7 billion, up from €3.7 billion in 2021, an increase of one billion euro or 28%. Goods output at producer prices increased by 28% also, to €12.3 billion, up from €9.6 billion in 2021 and from €8.4 billion in 2020. Intermediate consumption, which is the value of all goods and services used as inputs in the production process excluding fixed assets, increased by 29% to €7.9 billion, up from €6.1 billion in 2021.

The main drivers of the increase in the value of goods output were cereals, up 60% to €695 million and milk where the price increased significantly in 2022, resulting in the value of milk output to be up by €1.6 billion to just over €5 billion, up in value by 48%. The value of livestock at producer prices was up 14% to €4.5 billion with cattle performing best, up by 17%, followed by pigs up by 12%.

On the input side, the increase in intermediate consumption was almost €1.8 billion, up 29% on 2021. Fertilisers had increased by 100% from €605m to €1.2 billion, while feeding stuff went from €1.8 billion to €2.3 billion, an increase of 30%.

Feedingstuffs, energy and lubricants, along with fertilisers, accounted for 53% of the total costs of intermediate consumption in 2022. These three areas of expenditure combined increased in cost from €2.9 billion to €4.2 billion, an increase of 46%. The cost of contract work, which represents about 7% of total intermediate consumption, increased by €110 million or 24% in 2022 to €574 million.

Subsidies less taxes on production and on products was worth €1.94 billion in 2022, up on 2021 by €222 million or 13%.

Table 1.3 Output, Input and Income in Agriculture, 2020 – 2022

2020 2021 2022 % Change 2021 - Value €m Value €m Value €m 2022
	Value €m	Value €m	Value €m
Goods Output at Producer Prices	€8,377	€9,605	€12,285	28%
Contract Work	€431	€464	€574	24%
Subsidies less Taxes on Products	€95	€37	€35
Agricultural Output at Basic Prices	€8,902	€10,107	€12,894	28%
Intermediate Consumption	€5,625	€6,143	€7,919	29%
Gross Value Added at Basic Prices	€3,277	€3,964	€4,975	26%
Fixed Capital Consumption	€992	€1,088	€1,213	11%
Net Value Added at Basic Prices	€2,285	€2,875	€3,762	31%
Other Subsidies Less Taxes on Production	€1,667	€1,679	€1,904	13%
Factor Income	€3,951	€4,555	€5,665	24%
Compensation of Employees	€799	€876	€946	8%
Operating Surplus	€3,152	€3,678	€4,720	28%

Source: CSO

Looking at the trends in the OII over the past decade, there is an upward trend in each of the three main components, namely goods output at producer prices, intermediate consumption and operating surplus. It is always good for the producer to see the value of goods output increasing; however, the producer needs that increase to be greater than any increase in the cost of intermediate consumption. In this respect, 2022 was a good year. It resulted in the ‘bottom line’ or operating surplus increasing by 28%, the highest increase since 2017. Over the past ten years, goods output at producer prices has increased by 67% while intermediate consumption has increased by a more modest 40%, resulting in operating surplus increasing by 100% since 2013.

Figure 1.2 Trends in Operating Surplus, Goods Output and Intermediate Consumption, 2013 – 2022

€14

€12

€10

€8

Billion

€6

€4

€2

€0

Goods outputs at producer prices Intermediate consumption Operating surplus

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Source: CSO

Figure from page 20