Higher farm incomes in 2021 welcomed but rising input costs a concern - Poots

I welcome the rise in farm incomes for 2021 but the continuing rise in input costs is a concern, Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots MLA said today.

The Minister was commenting following the publication of the first (provisional) estimate for 2021 farm incomes, which indicate that the ‘Total Income from Farming’ (TIFF) in Northern Ireland rose by 8.3% (8.0% in real terms) from £463million in 2020 to £501million in 2021.

Mr Poots said: “It is welcomed that the total income from farming figure increased between 2020 and 2021 by 8.3%. This increase is on the back of improved prices for farm produce during 2021 but it’s disappointing that most of these price gains were offset by substantial increases in input costs.  Rising input costs have been a concern during 2021 and continue to be as we move into 2022.”   

Minister Poots continued: “Farm level estimates also show that not all farm types experienced an increase in incomes in 2021. In particular, the incomes of pig farms are substantially down due to lower pigmeat prices and much higher feed costs during 2021. Like all farm sectors, the pig sector has faced market fluctuations before but the combination of both lower prices and rising costs has been very testing and I have been working with the sector closely and continue to monitor the situation.”

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