The Office revealed that lower livestock prices included a drop in bull beef of 3.2 per cent and a 4.7 per cent drop in poultry.

Biggest discounts were seen in young cattle sales, with calves down almost 23 per cent. Pigs, in contrast, lifted 3.1 per cent.

Pig meat production was down 1.4 per cent and poultry production slipped to 34,172.

Office data shows farm gate milk prices rose and exports lifted 21.8 per cent, although not due to internal markets.

“The price of milk is not affected by domestic demand, but by European and world markets,” said CSO spokesperson Dana Vecerova. “There is not enough milk in the world and this has reflected the retail price in shops.”