Exports of goods increased by 10% in the first five months of 2024, with a value of almost €91 billion.
Goods imports decreased by 10% in January to May of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Exports of Chemicals & Related Products grew by €5.5 billion this year compared to last year.
Imports of Chemicals & Related Products decreased by €4.4 billion, in the same period.
In May 2024, Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods rose by over €1.3 billion to €17.9 billion compared with May 2023.
The unadjusted imports for May 2024 were valued at €10.4 billion, down €1.9 billion on May 2023.
Exports to the United States have grown by 28% in the year to date, largely due to the increase in exports of Chemicals & Related Products.
| Table A Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted | €million | ||
| Exports | Imports | Surplus | |
| April 2024 | 19,249 | 10,637 | 8,612 |
| May 2024 | 17,146 | 10,065 | 7,081 |
| Value change | -2,103 | -572 | -1,530 |
| % change | -10.9 | -5.4 | -17.8 |
Seasonally adjusted goods exports fell by €2,103 million (-11%) to €17,146 million in May 2024 compared with April 2024, according to preliminary figures.
Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €572 million (-5%) to €10,065 million leading to a decrease of €1,530 million (-18%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €7,081 million in May 2024 compared with April 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 | May 2023 - 2024 | January - May 2023 - 2024 | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | Value change | % change | 2023 | 2024 | Value change | % change | |||
| Exports | ||||||||||
| Total | 16,601 | 17,909 | 1,308 | 8 | 82,722 | 90,876 | 8,154 | 10 | ||
| Great Britain | 1,646 | 1,288 | -358 | -22 | 7,165 | 7,134 | -31 | 0 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 415 | 452 | 37 | 9 | 1,997 | 2,088 | 91 | 5 | ||
| EU27 | 6,913 | 7,068 | 155 | 2 | 35,090 | 35,856 | 766 | 2 | ||
| USA | 4,093 | 5,622 | 1,529 | 37 | 21,878 | 28,051 | 6,173 | 28 | ||
| Rest of World | 3,533 | 3,478 | -55 | -2 | 16,592 | 17,747 | 1,155 | 7 | ||
| Imports | ||||||||||
| Total | 12,318 | 10,383 | -1,935 | -16 | 57,676 | 52,166 | -5,511 | -10 | ||
| Great Britain | 1,493 | 1,478 | -15 | -1 | 9,704 | 6,918 | -2,787 | -29 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 453 | 458 | 5 | 1 | 2,164 | 2,136 | -28 | -1 | ||
| EU27 | 4,333 | 3,298 | -1,035 | -24 | 19,742 | 18,909 | -834 | -4 | ||
| USA | 1,761 | 1,994 | 233 | 13 | 8,525 | 8,574 | 48 | 1 | ||
| Rest of World | 4,278 | 3,156 | -1,122 | -26 | 17,540 | 15,630 | -1,911 | -11 | ||
The (unadjusted) value of goods exports increased by €1,308 million (+8%) to €17,909 million in May 2024 compared with May 2023. The value of goods exports for the period January to May 2024 grew by €8,154 million (+10%) to €90,876 million, when compared with the same period of 2023.
The (unadjusted) value of goods imports decreased by €1,935 million (-16%) to €10,383 million in May 2024 compared with May 2023. The value of goods imports for the first five months of 2024 fell by €5,511 million (-10%) to €52,166 million, when compared with the same period of 2023.
Exports to Great Britain were €1,288 million, which was 7% of total exports in May 2024. The products which accounted for the largest share of exports were Food & Live Animals with €370 million and Machinery & Transport Equipment at €297 million.
Imports from Great Britain in May 2024 were €1,478 million, which was 14% of the total value of imports. Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Products were valued at €350 million, imports of Chemicals & Related Products accounted for €257 million, and imports of Machinery & Transport Equipment were €253 million. (See Table 5).
The EU accounted for €7,068 million (39%) of total goods exports in May 2024, of which €2,133 million went to the Netherlands, €1,707 million went to Germany and €935 million went to Belgium.
The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €5,622 million (31%) of total exports in May 2024 (See Table 4).
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | 7.03146794756404 | 4.00169138399999 | 1.83317511357736 | 7.400502251 |
| 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 | 6.71695747925971 | 3.209520098 | 2.16808554975771 | 3.978017765 |
| Dec 2023 | 5.17570531615278 | 3.085495526 | 1.26212007344222 | 4.284592452 |
| Jan 2024 | 7.08653785850223 | 3.35030491745999 | 1.90865691932283 | 6.460237898 |
| Feb 2024 | 7.09763731736627 | 2.96932732394 | 1.60810023452849 | 4.246990123 |
| Mar 2024 | 6.91132261984645 | 4.41511363996999 | 2.21415527658871 | 5.119123195 |
| Apr 2024 | 7.69228984538745 | 3.53391897315999 | 1.75018843869135 | 6.602513295 |
| May 2024 | 7.06843188123487 | 3.47825331337999 | 1.7402376532051 | 5.622473784 |
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | 3.14827285263081 | 4.14074180141705 | 2.38788087199404 | 2.33093602471201 |
| 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 | 4.51516933476574 | 4.44452117527859 | 2.1962596070393 | 3.04034378656237 |
| Dec 2023 | 4.6268039586876 | 3.41707086465565 | 1.53014395948684 | 2.30668063131265 |
| Jan 2024 | 3.17215626398908 | 3.17219879051083 | 1.65663128050237 | 1.37520820681736 |
| Feb 2024 | 3.86474930750539 | 2.76329973343532 | 1.92920323646422 | 1.54981143445933 |
| Mar 2024 | 4.97964541086848 | 2.87590845764219 | 1.88537371778234 | 2.02851118294469 |
| Apr 2024 | 3.5942356533584 | 3.6625549141396 | 1.64674064924535 | 1.62636570733406 |
| May 2024 | 3.29784669239921 | 3.15556664576937 | 1.93564720745759 | 1.99394494409693 |
Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products increased by €1,375 million (+21%) to €7,817 million in May 2024 compared with May 2023. This represented 44% of total exports.
Exports of Organic Chemicals fell by €671 million (-28%) to €1,710 million.
Exports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances grew by €294 million (+37%) to €1,088 million.
Exports of Food & Live Animals grew by €115 million (+9%) to €1,382 million. (See Table 3).
Imports of Organic Chemicals were down by €1,768 million (-83%) to €373 million in May 2024 compared with May 2023.
Imports of Machinery Specialised for Particular Industries decreased by €253 million (-47%) to €287 million.
Imports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances increased by €134 million (+19%) to €839 million.
Imports of Office Machines & Automatic Data Processing Machines increased by €318 million (+97%) to €646 million.
The value of goods imports for May 2024 excluding SITC 79 (Other Transport Equipment, Including Aircraft) decreased by €1,854 million (-17%) to €9,093 million, compared with the corresponding May 2023 figure of €10,947 million (See Table 3).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (15 July 2024) released Goods Exports and Imports May 2024.
Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division, said “Ireland’s exports of goods increased by 10% in the first five months of this year, whereas imports decreased by 10%.
In both cases Chemicals & Related Products showed the largest changes. Exports of these goods grew by €5.5 billion from January to May of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023, and imports of Chemicals & Related Products fell by €4.4 billion in the same time frame.
In May 2024, Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods rose by over €1.3 billion to €17.9 billion compared with May 2023. When seasonally adjusted, exports of goods fell by €2.1 billion compared with April 2024.
The unadjusted imports for May 2024 were valued at €10.4 billion, down €1.9 billion on May 2023. Seasonally adjusted imports were €10.1 billion in May 2024.
Exports to the United States have grown by €6.2 billion in the year to date, with the export of Chemicals & Related Products accounting for €5.8 billion of that increase.”