Exports of Chemicals & Related Products increased by €4.8 billion in the first four months of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023.
Unadjusted goods exports were €19 billion in April 2024, up more than €3.8 billion compared with April 2023.
Unadjusted goods imports were €10.2 billion in April 2024, which was €600 million lower than imports in April 2023.
Seasonally adjusted goods exports were €18.8 billion in April 2024, an increase of €1 billion compared with March 2024.
Seasonally adjusted goods imports were €10.3 billion in April 2024.
| Table A Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted | €million | ||
| Exports | Imports | Surplus | |
| March 2024 | 17,794 | 11,157 | 6,637 |
| April 2024 | 18,796 | 10,351 | 8,444 |
| Value change | 1,002 | -806 | 1,808 |
| % change | 5.6 | -7.2 | 27.2 |
Seasonally adjusted goods exports grew by €1,002 million (+6%) to €18,796 million in April 2024 compared with March 2024, according to preliminary figures.
Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €806 million (-7%) to €10,351 million leading to an increase of €1,808 million (+27%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €8,444 million in April 2024 compared with March 2024 (See Table 2). Seasonal adjustment compares month-to-month data by removing fluctuations that may occur due to seasonal patterns in trade.
| Table B Share of Goods Exports and Imports by region | €million | |||||||||
| Unadjusted | April 2023 - 2024 | January - April 2023 - 2024 | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | Value change | % change | 2023 | 2024 | Value change | % change | |||
| Exports | ||||||||||
| Total | 15,171 | 19,008 | 3,837 | 25 | 66,121 | 72,389 | 6,268 | 9 | ||
| Great Britain | 1,221 | 1,285 | 64 | 5 | 5,519 | 5,775 | 256 | 5 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 364 | 400 | 36 | 10 | 1,582 | 1,636 | 54 | 3 | ||
| EU27 | 6,518 | 7,598 | 1,081 | 17 | 28,177 | 28,694 | 517 | 2 | ||
| USA | 4,156 | 6,543 | 2,387 | 57 | 17,785 | 22,369 | 4,585 | 26 | ||
| Rest of World | 2,912 | 3,182 | 270 | 9 | 13,059 | 13,915 | 856 | 7 | ||
| Imports | ||||||||||
| Total | 10,808 | 10,212 | -596 | -6 | 45,358 | 41,464 | -3,894 | -9 | ||
| Great Britain | 1,875 | 1,265 | -610 | -33 | 8,211 | 5,438 | -2,773 | -34 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 416 | 392 | -24 | -6 | 1,711 | 1,691 | -20 | -1 | ||
| EU27 | 3,643 | 3,401 | -242 | -7 | 15,409 | 15,418 | 9 | 0 | ||
| USA | 1,410 | 1,467 | 56 | 4 | 6,764 | 6,420 | -344 | -5 | ||
| Rest of World | 3,463 | 3,686 | 223 | 6 | 13,263 | 12,497 | -765 | -6 | ||
The (unadjusted) value of goods exports increased by €3,837 million (+25%) to €19,008 million in April 2024 compared with April 2023. The value of goods exports for the period January to April 2024 grew by €6,268 million (+9%) to €72,389 million, when compared with the same period of 2023.
The (unadjusted) value of goods imports decreased by €596 million (-6%) to €10,212 million in April 2024 compared with April 2023. The value of goods imports for the first four months of 2024 fell by €3,894 million (-9%) to €41,164 million, when compared with the same period of 2023.
Exports to Great Britain were €1,285 million, which was 7% of total exports in April 2024. The products which accounted for the largest share of exports were Chemicals & Related Products at €406 million and Food & Live Animals with €339 million.
Imports from Great Britain in April 2024 were €1,265 million, which was 12% of the total value of imports. Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Products were valued at €228 million, imports of Machinery & Transport Equipment were €251 million and imports of Chemicals & Related Products accounted for €209 million. (See Table 5).
The EU accounted for €7,598 million (40%) of total goods exports in April 2024, of which €1,842 million went to Germany, €1,837 million went to Belgium and €1,792 million went to the Netherlands.
The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €6,543 million (34%) of total exports in April 2024 (See Table 4).
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | 7.03146794756404 | 4.00169138399999 | 1.83317511357736 | 7.400502251 |
| Apr 2022 | 6.42002674605994 | 3.360673459 | 1.93709378628622 | 5.490089082 |
| May 2022 | 6.2983702194085 | 4.39532270599999 | 1.83022262751538 | 5.390377409 |
| Jun 2022 | 6.34773818352154 | 3.868853871 | 2.40887348009257 | 5.086599753 |
| Jul 2022 | 6.252539648654 | 3.33823685399999 | 1.57029484440219 | 3.745679746 |
| Aug 2022 | 8.5505963467939 | 3.623791805 | 1.92626849533277 | 5.286338789 |
| Sep 2022 | 7.59441998675093 | 4.085435417 | 1.84991809025405 | 5.904198153 |
| Oct 2022 | 6.58696172223077 | 3.591441143 | 2.08060789733065 | 5.306523683 |
| Nov 2022 | 6.88716979415636 | 3.18847492199999 | 2.0230150332706 | 5.032571309 |
| Dec 2022 | 5.99495427339276 | 3.109313866 | 1.59205177242982 | 4.433765332 |
| Jan 2023 | 7.00166929718193 | 2.92517220399999 | 1.7209164793019 | 3.849700567 |
| Feb 2023 | 7.42978453362456 | 3.45412363200001 | 1.66987909018109 | 4.160032732 |
| Mar 2023 | 7.22757806925556 | 3.76719638199999 | 2.12421141690795 | 5.6191061 |
| Apr 2023 | 6.51781193049492 | 2.91226385300001 | 1.58551572378062 | 4.155685568 |
| May 2023 | 6.91310535520124 | 3.53304737500002 | 2.06147354339916 | 4.093419028 |
| Jun 2023 | 6.69558330099911 | 3.238329714 | 2.7442516821165 | 5.694475768 |
| Jul 2023 | 6.57180988728802 | 2.83526778300001 | 2.18692851494005 | 4.033586402 |
| Aug 2023 | 6.17655946638319 | 3.116574302 | 1.69434464599053 | 5.118801198 |
| Sep 2023 | 7.1432334780805 | 2.903643321 | 1.56317175363387 | 4.236656503 |
| Oct 2023 | 7.63339434249322 | 3.40484962199999 | 1.64463124206927 | 4.829457856 |
| Nov 2023 | 6.84823262137188 | 3.423425428 | 2.20149357588995 | 4.193145893 |
| Dec 2023 | 5.17570531615278 | 3.085495526 | 1.26212007344222 | 4.284592452 |
| Jan 2024 | 7.08653785850223 | 3.35165294603999 | 1.90405691932283 | 6.460237898 |
| Feb 2024 | 7.09763731736627 | 2.965752667 | 1.60810023452849 | 4.246990123 |
| Mar 2024 | 6.91132261984645 | 4.41511363996999 | 2.21415527658871 | 5.119123195 |
| Apr 2024 | 7.59837080796982 | 3.18234472016 | 1.68482780392938 | 6.542721011 |
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | 3.14827285263081 | 4.14074180141705 | 2.38788087199404 | 2.33093602471201 |
| Apr 2022 | 3.50820880534995 | 3.47566700004536 | 2.42535617848881 | 1.87450129891659 |
| May 2022 | 3.63431123344235 | 5.04974529734677 | 2.39913877867239 | 2.18781775376064 |
| Jun 2022 | 3.70567560725347 | 4.64475699263232 | 2.60061488293834 | 1.87929043009657 |
| Jul 2022 | 3.13287526703743 | 3.97767827704352 | 2.28953937000186 | 1.30211393590302 |
| Aug 2022 | 3.22470655490728 | 4.42266596614623 | 2.71722647683728 | 2.10920545319726 |
| Sep 2022 | 4.18791765441382 | 3.65020618602282 | 2.51928762735894 | 2.44974277170222 |
| Oct 2022 | 4.10630401530525 | 3.42453851520585 | 3.17778865553939 | 1.79897633135657 |
| Nov 2022 | 4.01826956910247 | 3.81420263511006 | 2.46985495786996 | 1.82583888094956 |
| Dec 2022 | 4.53533522838145 | 3.87919934498645 | 2.35469298147492 | 1.80623668992089 |
| Jan 2023 | 2.88128591209521 | 3.85484855996731 | 2.95404147862947 | 1.81484609051063 |
| Feb 2023 | 3.71055878151335 | 3.23485258166375 | 2.52779149987961 | 1.68600377733813 |
| Mar 2023 | 5.17418205576562 | 2.70981209370352 | 2.14894222506542 | 1.85297748577796 |
| Apr 2023 | 3.64331353534981 | 3.46314868868828 | 2.29139474153317 | 1.41027558021653 |
| May 2023 | 4.33302925051484 | 4.27754838066153 | 1.94619228218385 | 1.76135485548631 |
| Jun 2023 | 4.85906307578075 | 3.40974413051303 | 2.16026580306357 | 2.03181837988862 |
| Jul 2023 | 3.76947973348614 | 3.49776988734261 | 2.09283525447007 | 1.53456855119574 |
| Aug 2023 | 3.18510901224084 | 3.20153013312721 | 2.28888991675692 | 1.63142817341011 |
| Sep 2023 | 3.49244601522492 | 3.3715705897399 | 2.2138363475185 | 2.18538453939873 |
| Oct 2023 | 4.24108393869788 | 3.62489278627032 | 1.97545749959323 | 1.69124266706696 |
| Nov 2023 | 4.63325457665951 | 4.3786219930425 | 2.20044083868294 | 3.03299805962912 |
| Dec 2023 | 4.6268039586876 | 3.41707086465565 | 1.53014395948684 | 2.30668063131265 |
| Jan 2024 | 3.17215626398908 | 3.17219879051083 | 1.65663128050237 | 1.37520820681736 |
| Feb 2024 | 3.86474930750539 | 2.76329971743532 | 1.92920323646422 | 1.54981143445933 |
| Mar 2024 | 4.97964541086848 | 2.8759084246422 | 1.88537371778234 | 2.02851118294469 |
| Apr 2024 | 3.40141469933306 | 3.68577820826892 | 1.65770674852971 | 1.46674176628227 |
Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products increased by €3,528 million (+66%) to €8,839 million in April 2024 compared with April 2023. This represented 47% of total exports.
Exports of Organic Chemicals fell by €367 million (-12%) to €2,605 million.
Exports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances grew by €169 million (+23%) to €912 million.
Exports of Professional, Scientific & Controlling Apparatus grew by €75 million (+10%) to €847 million. (See Table 3).
Imports of Organic Chemicals were down by €775 million (-50%) to €767 million in April 2024 compared with April 2023.
Imports of Other Transport Equipment (Including Aircraft) decreased by €750 million (-52%) to €682 million.
Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Products decreased by €163 million (-19%) to €714 million.
Imports of Office Machines & Automatic Data Processing Machines increased by €552 million (+175%) to €867 million.
The value of goods imports for April 2024 excluding SITC 79 (Other Transport Equipment, Including Aircraft) increased by €154 million (+2%) to €9,530 million, compared with the corresponding April 2023 figure of €9,376 million (See Table 3).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (17 June 2024) released Goods Exports and Imports April 2024.
Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division said: “In April 2024, Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods grew by more than €3.8 billion to €19 billion compared with April 2023. When looking at the first four months of the year, exports have grown by €6.2 billion, or 9%, mainly due to increased exports of Chemicals & Related Products.
The total value of exports for January to April 2024 were €72.4 billion. The value of imports decreased by 9% in the same period.
When seasonally adjusted, exports of goods grew by €1 billion compared with March 2024.
The unadjusted imports for April 2024 were valued at €10.2 billion, down €600 million on April 2023. Seasonally adjusted imports were €10.3 billion in April 2024.
Imports from Great Britain fell by 33% to €1.3 billion in April 2024 compared with April 2023, and the largest decreases were in the imports of Chemicals & Related products and Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Products.”