Exporting Enterprises in Ireland 2017

• In 2017, nearly 83% of exporting enterprises sold goods and/or services to the UK market.
• There were 325,478 persons engaged in enterprises exporting to the UK in 2017.
• The volume of exports to the UK for exporting enterprises was €46.2 billion while turnover was €407.8 billion in 2017.
• The value of goods exported to the UK by enterprises was €22.3 billion while the value of services exported to the UK by enterprises was €23.9 billion. 
• Enterprises that export to the UK also export €274.2 billion to other destinations in 2017. See Figure 6.1 and Table 6.1.

Reliance on the UK export market decreases as enterprises export to more destinations

• There were 4,096 enterprises in 2017 which exported exclusively to the UK. These enterprises had 39,550 persons engaged and their export intensity was 44.8%.
• The export intensity for the 2,335 enterprises that exported to the UK and at least one other EU member state was 17.2%.
• Where enterprises exported to the UK and another destination that is not in the EU the export intensity was 13.8%.
• Export intensity to the UK was 10.1% when the enterprise also exported to the EU and Rest of the World. See Figure 6.2 and Table 6.2.

Exporting enterprises to the UK are less reliant on exports to the UK as size class increased

• As enterprise size class increased, exporting enterprises to the UK became less reliant on exports to the UK for their turnover. For instance, in 2017 micro exporting enterprises had a UK export intensity of 21.1%, while their large exporting enterprise counterparts had an export intensity of 9.6%. 
• There were 8,432 exporting SMEs which exported to the UK in 2017. These enterprises had a UK export intensity of 15.7%. See Figure 6.4 and Table 6.4.

The Border region had the highest UK export intensity for 2017

• The Border region had the highest UK export intensity for 2017, with 28.9% of the 865 exporters' turnover attributable to exports to the UK.
• The South-West and West regions had the lowest UK export intensity at 5.6% and 7.6% respectively.
• Dublin had the highest number of enterprises engaged in export activities to the UK with 3,826 in 2017. See Figure 6.5 and Table 6.5.

Young enterprises were more reliant on the UK export market than Established enterprises in 2017

• 3,911 of the 4,949 Young exporting enterprises (younger than 5 years) exported to the UK in 2017.
• Their turnover was €49.9 billion of which 15.9% came from exports to the UK.
• There were 4,774 Established exporting enterprises (5 years and older) that exported to the UK.
• Their turnover was €357.9 billion of which 10.7% was accounted for by exports to the UK.
• While the overall export intensity of Young and Established exporting enterprises was similar at 78.8% and 77.2% respectively, UK exports accounted for more turnover for Young exporting enterprises (15.9%) than Established exporting enterprises (10.7%). See Table 6.6.