The country of import of goods can be defined in two ways: country of origin; or country of consignment. The country of origin is the country from which the goods originate. The country of consignment is the last Member State where a change has been made to the goods, for example, where there is a change of ownership of the goods, or goods are repackaged or further processed in some way. Note that in the case where the goods simply transit through a Member State, that Member State is not recorded in the trade statistics at all.
In terms of Ireland’s trade with the UK, imports in 2016 which originated in the UK amounted to €16.9 billion. Imports where the UK was the country of consignment amounted to €20.5 billion.
| Table 10.1 Differences in value for imports from the UK based on Country of import methodology | |||
| Year | €million | ||
| UK imports consignment | UK imports origin | Difference | |
| 2008 | 21,507 | 19,203 | 2,304 |
| 2009 | 15,861 | 13,728 | 2,133 |
| 2010 | 17,040 | 14,813 | 2,227 |
| 2011 | 18,969 | 16,685 | 2,284 |
| 2012 | 18,958 | 16,429 | 2,529 |
| 2013 | 19,505 | 16,886 | 2,619 |
| 2014 | 20,650 | 17,564 | 3,086 |
| 2015 | 21,875 | 17,994 | 3,881 |
| 2016 | 20,515 | 16,872 | 3,643 |
| 2017 | 22,350 | 18,777 | 3,573 |
| Table 10.2 Imports from the UK by consignment and origin 2016 | |||
| SITC Rev 4 | Product description | €million | |
| UK consignment | UK origin | ||
| 0 | Food and live animals | 3,629 | 3,240 |
| 1 | Beverages and tobacco | 507 | 361 |
| 2 | Crude materials, inedible, except fuels | 234 | 206 |
| 3 | Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials | 2,136 | 2,089 |
| 4 | Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes | 68 | 65 |
| 5 | Chemicals and related products | 2,957 | 2,445 |
| 6 | Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material | 2,058 | 1,859 |
| 7 | Machinery and transport equipment | 4,478 | 3,140 |
| 8 | Miscellaneous manufactured articles | 3,123 | 2,312 |
| 9 | Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere | 1,325 | 1,155 |
| Total | 20,515 | 16,872 | |
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