LAST UPDATE | 30 Jan

FOOD PRICES IN Ireland have increased by 3.9% in the last 12 months, and by 0.2% in the last month.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today published the flash estimates of inflation from the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for Ireland for January 2026.

The HICP is an index of consumer prices that has been harmonised to allow comparisons across Eurozone countries and is designed to assess price stability.

The news comes as Musgrave, which owns both Supervalu and Centra, announced cuts worth up to 9% across the Kerrygold range this morning, which they said will deliver savings of up to 50 cent per pack.

Tesco also announced similar price cuts on Kerrygold products. Moves to reduce the price of butter come after some supermarkets announced the first cuts on the cost of milk since 2023 last year. 

Rising above Eurozone average

In the flash estimate about food prices for Ireland for January compiled by the CSO, consumer goods and services have increased by 2.6% in the past 12 months to January but decreased by 1% since December last.

This compared to an annual rise of 1.9% for the Eurozone in the same period.

When looking at certain components of the HICP, food prices have risen by 3.9% in the 12 months to January.

And while energy prices have fallen by 0.8% in the month, they were up 0.3% over the past 12 months to January.

Eurostat will publish flash estimates for the Eurozone for January on 4 February.

Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty today said that “food prices going up at this rate is not sustainable”.

He added that “ordinary workers and families are getting crucified”.

“They are hit hardest because they spend a large share of their wages just trying to put food on the table,” said Doherty.

He added that “people have been left struggling through the winter by a government that refuses to help”.

“Food prices still rising at a pace of 3.9% should be sending alarm bells ringing in the government. But still, we see no action,” said Doherty.

“We urgently need to empower the competition regulator to deliver far greater transparency in terms of both pricing and profits for food companies and large supermarkets.”