Electricity prices are estimated to have been 28% higher on Irish farms in 2023 relative to 2022, according to Teagasc's annual outlook report.

The escalation in fossil fuel prices in 2022 led to a sharp rise in electricity prices and despite the fall in fossil fuel prices in 2023,

downward movement in electricity prices has been slow to emerge, Teagasc's report says.

Teagasc said that demand by farmers for fuel and electricity tends to be relatively inelastic with respect to price and given that milk production is estimated to have fallen only very slightly nationally, this suggests that the volume of electricity and fuel use is not likely to have changed in 2023.

Looking ahead to 2024, Teagasc has said that electricity prices are forecast to decrease by 10%. This would mean expenditure

per hectare on electricity and fuel in 2024 would be down 8% compared with 2023.

Green diesel

Meanwhile, fuel prices are forecast to fall by 4% in 2024 having already fallen by 18% this year compared with 2022, according to Teagasc.

This decrease is expected to be by about 9% on tillage farms.

With lower prices for fuel and higher prices for electricity, the overall expenditure on both electricity and fuel is estimated to be down about 7% on a per-hectare or per-litre basis in 2023.