Ireland: Barley production up 1.9% in 2022

Ireland’s creal production grew by 3.7% following a strong year for wheat, oat and barley growth, new figures from the CSO reveal.

New data also shows significant increases in winter wheat, up 9.1% year-on-year, with winter oats also seeing growth of 9.7% in the same period.

The yield of wheat rose by 0.1 tonnes per hectare, up by 0.8%, with barley falling by 0.1 tonnes per hectare, a decrease of 1.5%. Oats were up by 0.2 tonnes per hectare, representing a rise of more than 2% year-on-year.

According to the CSO, wheat production grew by 57,600 tonnes, up 8.7%, with barley growing by 28,900 tonnes (1.9%) and oats by 3,300 tonnes (1.4%).

Speaking on the findings, Donal Kelly, Senior Statistician in Agriculture Surveys said “Overall, there was an increase in the production of wheat, oats, and barley crops in 2022.” “Production of beans and peas rose from 54,400 tonnes to 65,700 tonnes in 2022, up by more than 20%.”

According to Mr Kelly, the growth was largely driven by an increase in the area sown of 1,100 hectares and an improvement in the yield from 5.6 tonnes per hectare to 6.1 tonnes per hectare.”

Despite strong growth in wheat, oat and barley production, Mr Kelly added that the production of potatoes dropped from 407,500 tonnes in 2021 to 368,000 tonnes in 2022, down by just under 10%, which was based on “a 5% reduction in the area sown and a 5% fall in the yield per hectare."

Latest figures show that the area farmed for cereals increased by 11,000 hectares to 285,700 ha when compared with June 2021, with the highest growth observed in spring wheat, up +11.9%, and the biggest drop in spring oats down by 9.9%.

The area under potatoes declined by 400 hectares last year to 8,500 hectares.

27 April, 2023