CSO figures show huge increase in Ireland's exports in July

Ireland saw a monthly increase of more than €2bn in its exports in July, according to the Central Statistics Office.

The figures show that seasonally adjusted exports went up to €13.67bn in July, a rise of €2.073bn (18%) from June's figure of €11.59bn.

Medical and pharmaceutical products saw the biggest exports rise, adding €661m (18%) in July. The value of the month's exports for this sector stood at €4.31bn, which represents 33% of the value of total exports.

Organic chemicals increased its exports in the same month by €642m (35%) to €2.48bn compared with July 2018.

The economy also saw a growth in imports in the same month with seasonally adjusted numbers rising by €252m (4%) to €7.39bn.

It means that Ireland's trade surplus has grown by €1.82bn (+41%) to €6.276bn in July compared with the previous month.

Exports to Great Britain fell by €66m to €1.1bn in July, while imports grew by €51m to €1.52bn. However, the EU accounted for €6.52bn, or 50%, of total exports in July, while the US was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,05bn of exports.

Imports in July from the EU amounted to €4.08bn and from the US they stood at €1.29bn.