Factory gate prices fall 4.3% in year to January

The price of goods leaving factory gates decreased 4.3 per cent in January compared to the same month the year before, according to the latest wholesale price index from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

On a monthly basis, factory gate prices decreased 1 per cent last month, which compares to a monthly increase of 0.2 per cent in January 2019.

The annual decline of 4.3 per cent in manufacturing prices compares to a drop of 3.2 per cent in the year to December.

The price index for export sales decreased 1 per cent in the month, while the index for home sales fell 1.2 per cent.

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Over the year, there was a decrease of 4.5 per cent in the price index for export sales, which are typically subject to currency fluctuations, with a decrease of 0.9 per cent in respect of the price index for home sales.

Annual increases

The price of food products rose 3.7 per cent in the month and climbed 4.2 per cent year-on-year, with the annual increases driven by a 6 per cent rise in dairy product prices and a 4.7 per cent rise for fish and fish products. The factory price of meat and meat products has fallen 3.2 per cent over the past year, however.

The cost of fuels purchased by the manufacturing industry has swelled over the year, with petrol costs up 5.6 per cent over the past year and 0.7 per cent on a monthly basis. Overall energy costs have fallen, due to the plunging price of wholesale electricity.

Among construction materials, the cost of sand and gravel has soared almost 18 per cent over the past year, while cement and concrete prices have also seen increases.