Eastern promise awaits Irish exporters

IRELAND’S eggs are no longer in one basket. For many decades we were almost totally reliant on Britain for our imports and exports.

However, our accession to the EEC opened up new trading opportunities to domestic businesses. Indeed, in the opening quarter of 2005 Britain accounted for just 22% of our total trade.

This diversification is positive, as it reduces the impact on our economy of a slowdown in any of our trading partners. Similarly, adverse exchange rate movements won't have as serious an effect as before. This is because the currency we have the biggest exposure to sterling accounts for just one-fifth of our trade.