The Northern Ireland farming industry saw its profit surge by 26% in real terms last year, rising from £342m to £456m, official figures suggest. The profit is calculated by assessing the value of output and subsidies and subtracting the cost of production and finance. Total turnover rose by 4% to £2.23bn while input costs increased marginally from to £1.55bn. Farming profits can tend to be volatile. They rise and fall sharply depending on global prices. The estimated value of subsidies in 2020 was £297m, equivalent to 65% of profits. Dairying remains the largest sector, accounting for turnover of £667m in 2020, up by 2% on 2019. The annual average farm-gate milk price fell by 0.7% to 27.01 pence per litre while the volume of raw milk produced increased by 2% to 2.4bn litres. The turnover from cattle was 2% higher at £438m in 2020. The average producer price for finished clean cattle was £3.46 per kg, up 6.1% on 2019. Smaller sectors saw a significant rise in turnover: the value of output from sheep increased by 27% to £84m and the average producer price increased by 15% to £4.46 per kg. The value of output in the pig sector increased by 20% to £217m with producer prices up by 8%. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has forecast that at the individual farm level profits are likely to be up by 27% in 2020/21. The average farm profit was £25,935 in 2019/20 and rose to an average of £33,039 in 2020/21. The exception is cereal farms which are expected to show a decrease in profits due to lower yields. |