Irish exports reach a record high

Irish exports reached a record €152.5 billion last year a jump of 8% on exports for 2018.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that medical and pharmaceutical products represented the largest category of exports accounting for 33% of all exports.

The amount of goods imported last year decreased compared to 2018, falling by €2.7 billion (-3%) to €89 billion.

The EU accounted for €72.6 billion (48%) of total exports in 2019. Exports to non-EU countries were valued at €79.9 billion. The USA was the largest export destination in 2019, accounting for €47 billion or 31% of total exports.

Exports to Great Britain fell last year by 4% to €13.5 billion and Ireland recorded a trade deficit of €5.2 billion with Great Britain importing €18.7 billion worth of goods. Exports to Northern Ireland accounted for a further €2.1 billion.

The figures show the UK is the third-largest export market for Irish goods but plays a key role in terms of agriculture and food products.

The biggest product categories imported in 2019 from Great Britain were machinery and transport equipment (€4 billion) and food and live animals (€3.3 billion). Imports from Great Britain accounted for 21% of total imports in 2019.

For the month of December, the value of seasonally adjusted goods exports increased by 4% to €12.6 billion, according to preliminary figures.

The value of goods imports increased by €283 million on a seasonally adjusted basis. This means that there was an increase of €215 million in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4.8 billion in December.