Irish exports decline in August due to fall-off in trade with US and EU

Strong increases in exports to Britain and the rest of the world softened the fall off in other markets. Picture: David Creedon

The value of Irish exports declined by 1.2% during August driven by a 9% fall of the value of goods sent to both the US and EU, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

During the month, the country exported €15.86bn worth of goods around the world, down from just over €16bn in August last year. Exports to the EU were down 9% to just under €7bn while exports to the US were also down 9% to €3.76bn.

However, strong increases in exports to Britain and the rest of the world softened the fall off in other markets. The value of exports to the UK increased by 24% to €1.3bn while the exports to the rest of the world increased by 22% to €3.33bn.

Exports of medical and pharmaceutical products, one of the country’s largest export categories, decreased by €433.9m to €6bn during August. Exports of organic chemicals fell by €582.1m to €1.5bn.

Statistician with the CSO, Jane Burmanje, said the value of exports and the value of imports of office machines and automatic data processing machines sharply rose during the month.

“Imports of office machines and automatic data processing machines rose by €779.9m to €2.0bn, while exports of office machines and automatic data processing machines more than doubled in value increasing by €831.5m from €587.8m in August 2025 to €1.4bn in August 2026.” 

In the first eight months of this year, the value of Irish exports are down 24% to €138.4bn largely due to a 58% reduction in goods exported to the US. However, during the early months of 2025, Irish exports to the US surged as companies sought to get products into the country before US president Donald Trump imposed tariffs.

Irish exports to the EU are also down this year by 9% to just under €53.5bn. However, exports to Britain were up 39%, or by €3.7bn, to €13.24bn during the same period.

International indirect tax partner at Grant Thornton, Janette Maxwell, said the data shows that Ireland’s export performance “is continuing to normalise after some of the rollercoaster figures over the past year”.

She said while the decline so far this year “looks stark” this has to be put “into the right context given the surge in exports early in 2025, when many companies frontloaded exports to the US due to concerns about tariff”.

“The August figures show an interesting divergence in Ireland’s key trading relationships. The US remains our largest individual export market, but both exports to and imports from the US were down significantly year-on-year,” she said.

“In contrast, trade with Great Britain continues to strengthen, with Irish exports to Britain up almost 39% in the first eight months of the year. The growing momentum in trade with our nearest neighbour in a post-Brexit environment is positive to see.” 

During August, the value of Irish imports fell by €48m to €14.4bn. Given the war in Iran, and the impact it has had on global energy markets, the value of imports of petroleum and petroleum-related products increased by €272m during the month to €667.6m, a 68.8% increase year-on-year.

The value of Irish imports between January and August are up 13% year-on-year to €106.88bn.