Official statistics reveal extent of cereal decline in 2023

Official data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has revealed the rate at which cereal production declined in 2023, with the production of the three main cereals – wheat, barley and oats – all back.

As part of its recent Area, Yield and Production of Crops 2023 release, the CSO notes that wheat, barley and oats yield also dropped by 1.4t/ha (-12.8%), 1.3t/ha (-16.1%) and 1.5t/ha (-17.9%), respectively when the 2023 and 2022 production years are compared.

Commenting on the release Sophie Emerson, Statistician in Agriculture Surveys, said: "Overall, there was a decrease in the production of cereals in 2023 compared to 2022. The combined decrease in production across wheat, oats and barley was 531,300t (-20.9%). Production of wheat, oats and barley decreased by 199,200t (-27.7%), 49,900t (-20.6%) and 282,200t (-17.8%), respectively.

“The production of beans and peas rose from 65,700t to 81,300t in 2023 (+23.8%) driven by an increase in the area sown of 5,400ha (+50.0%) and despite a reduction in the yield from 6.1t/ha to 5t/ha (-17.5%).

“The production of potatoes dropped from 368,000t in 2022 to 322,200t in 2023 (-12.4%), based on a 3.3% reduction in the area sown and a 9.5% fall in the yield per hectare."

Figure 1: Crop production by type of crop 2010-2023 (Source: CSO)

Area under crops and yields

The CSO statistics also reports on the areas under crops. When compared with 2022, the area under cereals dropped by 16,300ha or 5.7% to 269,400ha, with the largest decrease observed for winter barley which was down by 20,800ha (-28.2%). The area under cereals decreased in 2023 despite an increase of 16,900ha for spring barley (+14.5%) and an increase of 4,200ha for spring oats (+32.1%).

Additionally, the area under potatoes fell by 300ha (-3.3%) to 8,200ha in comparison with 2022, while the area under beans and peas rose by 5,400ha to 16,200 ha (+50.0%) in 2023. Oilseed Rape area was also up from 15,800ha in 2022 to 21,600ha in 2023 (+36.9%), the CSO statistics reveal.

Figure 2: Area under crops (Source: CSO)

In terms of yields, the CSO notes that there was a decrease in yield across all reference crops in 2023 with the exception of winter barley, which remained the same at 8.7t/ha. Cereal yield fell by 1.4t/ha to 7.5t/ha (-16.1%), with spring barley showing the greatest drop in yield from 8.1t/ha to 6.3t/ha (-22.2%).

Figure 3: Yield of selected crops (Source: CSO)

Also read: Key advice for winter barley, winter wheat and fertiliser for spring cereals