Switzerland bucks trend as exports fall by 1%

By Conor Keane EXPORTS from Ireland to non-EU countries fell by 1% in the first seven months of the year.

However, exports to Switzerland bucked the trend, soaring by 28%. Switzerland has overtaken Japan as the second largest importer of Irish goods among non-EU countries, with the US holding its number one spot.

Switzerland purchased 2.06 billion euro worth of Irish-produced goods from January to July, up 28% from 1.6bn euro in the same period in 2001. Exports to Japan fell by 15% to 1.66bn euro leaving it in third place in the league table of countries outside the EU purchasing Irish goods.