Ireland ranked as second largest pharma exporter in EU last year 

According to Eurostat’s data, overall EU export of medicinal and pharmaceutical products increased by 13.5% last year compared with 2023, reaching €313.4bn. File picture: iStock

Ireland has ranked second in the EU, only behind Germany, for the volume of medicinal and pharmaceutical products exported out of the bloc during 2024, data from Eurostat shows.

According to Eurostat’s data, overall EU export of medicinal and pharmaceutical products increased by 13.5% compared with 2023, reaching €313.4bn. At the same time, imports only recorded a modest increase of 0.5%, amounting to €119.7bn.

As a result, the EU's trade surplus in medicinal and pharmaceutical products came to a total of €193.6bn, marking a record high.

Last year, Germany was the bloc’s biggest exporter of medicinal and pharmaceutical products going out of the EU with €67.9bn followed by Ireland at €56.6bn and Belgium at €41.1bn.

The total value of Ireland’s exports during 2024 stood at €223.8bn. This was driven by a strong performance in the pharmaceutical and medical sector which alone accounted for €99.9bn which includes exports to the US as well as other EU countries.

The US was the primary destination for these exports accounting for 38.2% of all exports outside of the EU followed by Switzerland at 16.4% and the UK at 5.8%.

The largest importer of these products from outside of the EU was also Germany at €23bn, followed by Belgium at €21.3bn, and the Netherlands at €14.7bn.

Of the imports into the EU, 38.3% came from the US, 32.6% came from Switzerland, and 7.3% came from the UK.

So far pharmaceutical products entering the US have been exempt from the tariffs implemented by US president Donald Trump, however, that is likely to change.

Last week, Mr Trump indicated that he would implement major tariffs on import pharmaceutical products but the tariff rate has yet to be announced.

Following a 1995 World Trade Organisation agreement, most countries, including the US, have imposed few or no tariffs on pharmaceuticals to ensure they are more affordable.

Ireland’s exports hit a record high in 2024, driven by pharmaceutical trade, but figures released by the CSO for January show that Irish trade is already ahead of last year.

During the month, Ireland’s trade exports in goods grew by over 26% to €23bn compared with December and by 28.2% compared to January 2024.

A rise in pharma exports drove a more than €12bn goods trade surplus in January, as imports fell marginally by 2.6% in the period. Exports of medical and pharmaceutical products rose by 68% to €14.8bn, with this representing 61% of total exports in January.

The US was both the largest goods export and import market for Ireland in the month, accounting for almost 50% of total goods exported and almost 20% of total goods imports.

Exports to the US grew by 81% in January, the CSO added.