All-Ireland trade 'grows substantially' since Brexit

A truck leaves the small village of Bridgend in the Republic, travelling into Northern Ireland. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The all-Ireland economy has expanded "substantially" since Brexit, with high levels of integrated trade flowing between the North and the Republic, the Economic and Social Research Institute has found. 

The report, co-written by Professor Martina Lawless, uses 2021 figures to show that the exports and imports flowing north and south likely deliver significant economic benefits for firms unable to tap markets further from home.   

Excluding trade across the Irish Sea with Britain, the North imported €2.6bn of goods from the Republic, and exported €5.6bn of goods to the Republic.

For the Republic, "Northern Ireland makes up almost 5% of Ireland’s total goods imports and just over 2% of exports, which are sizeable shares, given the much smaller size of the Northern Ireland economy relative to the other top-10 partner countries", the report found. 

There are also similarities in trade in some sectors, with chemicals and pharma goods featuring strongly in the trade statistics in both the North and the Republic.  

"The food and beverages sector accounts for a considerably larger share of cross-border trade than it does in the overall trade structure, with 24% of goods going from Ireland to Northern Ireland in this sector, and 27% of goods going from Northern Ireland to Ireland," according to the analysis.

Business group Ibec helped fund the research.

"Business is increasingly aware of the growing opportunities in the all-island economy," said Ibec director Fergal O’Brien.