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The first estimates for the year 2023 show that exports were valued at €197 billion, a decrease of 6% when compared with 2022.
Imports of goods were €140 billion, a fall of 1%, or €1.5 billion compared with 2022.
Unadjusted goods exports were €13.9 billion in December 2023, down almost €1.4 billion on December 2022.
Unadjusted goods imports were €12 billion, which was over €600 million less than imports in December 2022.
Seasonally adjusted goods exports were €15.7 billion in December 2023, a decline of €90 million compared with the previous month.
Seasonally adjusted goods imports were €11.6 billion in December 2023, down €1.7 billion when compared with November 2023.
Exports to Great Britain were €17.6 billion in 2023, while imports from Great Britain were €21 billion.
Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Products fell from €13 billion in 2022 to €10 billion in 2023.
| Table A Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted | €million | ||
| Exports | Imports | Surplus | |
| November 2023 | 15,800 | 13,346 | 2,455 |
| December 2023 | 15,710 | 11,604 | 4,106 |
| Value change | -90 | -1,741 | 1,651 |
| % change | -0.6 | -13.0 | 67.3 |
Seasonally adjusted goods exports fell by €90 million (-1%) to €15,710 million in December 2023 compared with November 2023, according to preliminary figures.
Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €1,741 million (-13%) to €11,604 million leading to an increase of €1,651 million (+67%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,106 million in December 2023 compared with November 2023 (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 | December 2022 - 2023 | January - December 2022 - 2023 | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2023 | Value change | % change | 2022 | 2023 | Value change | % change | |||
| Exports | ||||||||||
| Total | 15,304 | 13,933 | -1,371 | -9 | 208,763 | 197,250 | -11,513 | -6 | ||
| Great Britain | 1,194 | 892 | -301 | -25 | 17,223 | 17,636 | 413 | 2 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 398 | 375 | -23 | -6 | 4,970 | 4,944 | -26 | -1 | ||
| EU27 | 5,995 | 5,190 | -805 | -13 | 80,540 | 81,267 | 727 | 1 | ||
| USA | 4,504 | 4,347 | -157 | -3 | 63,217 | 54,486 | -8,731 | -14 | ||
| Rest of World | 3,213 | 3,128 | -85 | -3 | 42,813 | 38,916 | -3,897 | -9 | ||
| Imports | ||||||||||
| Total | 12,601 | 11,954 | -646 | -5 | 141,037 | 139,510 | -1,527 | -1 | ||
| Great Britain | 1,726 | 1,205 | -520 | -30 | 23,975 | 21,059 | -2,915 | -12 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 610 | 327 | -283 | -46 | 5,426 | 5,228 | -199 | -4 | ||
| EU27 | 4,535 | 4,722 | 187 | 4 | 42,630 | 48,005 | 5,375 | 13 | ||
| USA | 1,852 | 2,308 | 456 | 25 | 22,361 | 22,840 | 479 | 2 | ||
| Rest of World | 3,878 | 3,391 | -486 | -13 | 46,645 | 42,377 | -4,267 | -9 | ||
The (unadjusted) value of goods exports decreased by €1,371 million (-9%) to €13,933 million in December 2023 compared with December 2022. The value of goods exports for the year 2023 was down by €11,513 million (-6%) to €197,250 million, when compared with 2022.
The (unadjusted) value of goods imports decreased by €646 million (-5%) to €11,954 million in December 2023 compared with December 2022. The value of goods imports for 2023 decreased by €1,527 million (-1%) to €139,510 million, when compared with 2022.
Exports to Great Britain in December 2023 were €892 million, which was 6% of total exports. The products which accounted for the largest share of exports were Food & Live Animals with €282 million, and Machinery & Transport Equipment with €229 million. Exports to Great Britain in 2023 increased by €413 million (+2%) to €17,636 million when compared with 2022.
Imports from Great Britain in December 2023 were €1,205 million, which was 10% of the total value of imports. Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials were valued at €253 million, imports of Food & Live Animals were €220 million, and imports of Machinery & Transport Equipment accounted for €219 million. Imports from Great Britain in 2023 decreased by €2,915 million (-12%) to €21,059 million compared with 2022 (See Table 5).
The EU accounted for €5,190 million (37%) of total goods exports in December 2023, of which €1,686 million went to the Netherlands, €1,059 million went to Belgium and €989 million went to Germany.
The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,347 million (31%) of total exports in December 2023 (See Table 4).
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | 6.27284031153645 | 2.796754711 | 1.7511570091017 | 5.244730516 |
| Feb 2022 | 6.30266338054554 | 3.34921348 | 1.39027186944102 | 4.825347098 |
| 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 | 6.93597110225951 | 3.53304737500002 | 2.06231359049922 | 4.093419028 |
| Jun 2023 | 6.73918999299196 | 3.238329714 | 2.74841906843818 | 5.694475768 |
| Jul 2023 | 6.56423718753898 | 2.92379787700001 | 2.2622586395755 | 4.051062666 |
| Aug 2023 | 6.16171303872621 | 3.196161201 | 1.7155097587286 | 5.107306858 |
| Sep 2023 | 7.08986143398138 | 2.987962531 | 1.60411600701267 | 4.33656717 |
| Oct 2023 | 7.60752099262603 | 3.426367506 | 1.63051131012241 | 4.878499338 |
| Nov 2023 | 6.80117674795935 | 3.423425428 | 2.18914185748906 | 4.193145893 |
| Dec 2023 | 5.19042205385086 | 3.12804574100001 | 1.26768721211619 | 4.347189361 |
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | 2.63674905237381 | 3.26110862417221 | 2.14244990593779 | 1.31652224622383 |
| Feb 2022 | 2.79170509949076 | 2.90574911702911 | 1.9362272411329 | 1.43438147581768 |
| 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 | 4.45428760942382 | 4.27891724580067 | 1.94938450868741 | 1.84648065909634 |
| Jun 2023 | 5.01171830946167 | 3.42564837046959 | 2.16076601350301 | 2.07012732566615 |
| Jul 2023 | 3.8319216905229 | 3.489147390284 | 2.08501880770258 | 1.4407314433814 |
| Aug 2023 | 3.03482120751397 | 3.18939540963543 | 2.28112259396132 | 1.38263483011316 |
| Sep 2023 | 3.42098773414742 | 3.38908147191301 | 2.21339077622132 | 1.80989551469966 |
| Oct 2023 | 3.51513519984257 | 3.62341411589095 | 1.97149868038394 | 3.03248267422309 |
| Nov 2023 | 4.60451731456051 | 4.32791693574278 | 2.1715636533203 | 3.03248267422309 |
| Dec 2023 | 4.72247728111335 | 3.3911137973555 | 1.53234477854401 | 2.30841168130048 |
Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products increased by €497 million (+9%) to €5,817 million in December 2023 compared with December 2022. This represented 42% of total exports.
Exports of Organic Chemicals decreased by €1,293 million (-57%) to €985 million.
Exports of Professional, Scientific & Controlling Apparatus fell by €252 million (-26%) to €728 million. (See Table 3).
Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials decreased by €289 million (-28%) to €753 million in December 2023 compared with December 2022.
Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft increased by €217 million (+8%) to €2,886 million.
Imports of Office Machines & Automatic Data Processing Machines fell by €139 million (-25%) to €423 million. (See Table 3).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (15 February 2024) released Goods Exports and Imports December 2023.
Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division said: “In 2023, Ireland’s exports of goods were €197 billion, a decrease of more than €11 billion when compared with 2022. Exports in 2023 were still more than €30 billion higher than in 2021.
Imports of goods in 2023 were more than €139 billion, €1.5 billion lower than the 2022 level, but almost €36 billion higher than in 2021.
The unadjusted exports for December 2023 were valued at €13.9 billion, a decrease of €1.4 billion on December 2022. Seasonally adjusted exports were €15.7 billion in December 2023.
In December 2023, unadjusted imports were valued at almost €12 billion. When seasonally adjusted, imports of goods fell by €1.7 billion when compared with November 2023.
Imports from Great Britain fell by 12% to €21 billion in 2023 when compared with 2022, and the largest drop was in the imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials which were down by 34%.
Exports to Great Britain grew by 2% to €17.6 billion in 2023 when compared with 2022, and the largest increase of 13% was in the export of Machinery & Transport Equipment.”