Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 112.3m litres for January 2015.
This was 14.9% below the corresponding 2014 figure, according to the figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The figures also show that the level of milk imported into Ireland continues to rise.
In 2014, 509.5m litres of milk for processing was imported. This is up – almost 100m litres – from 410.5m litres imported in 2013.
The volumes of whole milk being drank by the general public are reducing, as skimmed and semi skimmed consumption grows.
Its figures compare the 2015 milk figures with those for 2014 and shows that total milk sold for human consumption decreased by 1.3% to 39.9m litres, while butter production was down 3.2% to 4,300t.
The figures from the CSO also show milk intake volumes across the EU in the January – November period of 2014, and every country in the EU, bar Greece and Spain increased their dairy production in 2014.
Across the European Union there was a 4.8% increase in milk intake volumes, with Romania and Latvia both increasing their volumes by over 10%.
Irish volumes increased by 4.9% in the nine months, while France was up by 6.2% and the UK up by 8.8%. Germany saw volumes increase by 3.9%. Germany and France produce more milk than any other country in the EU, with 28,835m tonnes and 23,204m tonnes in 2014 respectively.
