This chapter contains information on Ireland's Goods Exports and Imports statistics which provide data on the movement of goods between countries. The statistics are a combination of customs-based non-EU trade statistics and data from the Intrastat survey of Irish traders involved in trade with other EU member states.
| X-axis label | Exports | Imports | Trade surplus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 1.8378188947184 | 2.16376065945117 | -0.326041764732771 |
| 1976 | 2.3605 | 2.9686 | -0.608 |
| 1977 | 3.1974 | 3.92463342661676 | -0.727233426616757 |
| 1978 | 3.76248787400135 | 4.71466445901539 | -0.952176585014043 |
| 1979 | 4.41576811535317 | 6.13016846884825 | -1.71440035349508 |
| 1980 | 5.18370570518713 | 6.88286920174106 | -1.69916349655393 |
| 1981 | 6.06630064350326 | 8.3529 | -2.28659935649674 |
| 1982 | 7.22658729957184 | 8.6547 | -1.42811270042816 |
| 1983 | 8.8169 | 9.35390647617209 | -0.537006476172095 |
| 1984 | 11.2974945528236 | 11.3161 | -0.0186054471763582 |
| 1985 | 12.3710580981355 | 11.971344551046 | 0.399813547089506 |
| 1986 | 11.9029056686187 | 10.9467928955615 | 0.956112773057173 |
| 1987 | 13.6160362840353 | 11.6247060556348 | 1.99133022840048 |
| 1988 | 15.6238731074554 | 12.9701205235384 | 2.65385258391699 |
| 1989 | 18.5343667308308 | 15.5978434768476 | 2.93662325398317 |
| 1990 | 18.2038539090156 | 15.8321101523178 | 2.37174375669787 |
| 1991 | 19.07006922612 | 16.3171500982777 | 2.75291912784231 |
| 1992 | 21.2602404376025 | 16.7539399972574 | 4.50640044034517 |
| 1993 | 25.1785251738271 | 18.8996703759948 | 6.2788547978323 |
| 1994 | 28.8908583937305 | 21.9453911047229 | 6.94556728900762 |
| 1995 | 35.3300811108684 | 26.1808564129391 | 9.14922469792932 |
| 1996 | 38.6089257507961 | 28.4794632563195 | 10.1295624944766 |
| 1997 | 44.8679726346049 | 32.8634879197119 | 12.004484714893 |
| 1998 | 57.321817655454 | 39.7149945909158 | 17.6067230645382 |
| 1999 | 66.9562092731511 | 44.3270642131941 | 22.629145059957 |
| 2000 | 83.986 | 54.9601 | 29.0259 |
| 2001 | 92.7304 | 56.4552 | 36.2752 |
| 2002 | 94.0589 | 55.1057 | 38.9532 |
| 2003 | 82.5848 | 48.5153 | 34.0695 |
| 2004 | 84.9492 | 51.5572 | 33.392 |
| 2005 | 87.1727 | 58.4626 | 28.71 |
| 2006 | 87.4967 | 63.8331 | 23.6635 |
| 2007 | 90.5797 | 65.9393 | 24.6404 |
| 2008 | 88.5031 | 59.3356 | 29.1675 |
| 2009 | 87.5855 | 48.2033 | 39.3821 |
| 2010 | 90.9238 | 48.6946 | 42.2292 |
| 2011 | 93.1906 | 53.0352 | 40.1554 |
| 2012 | 93.5067 | 56.1792 | 37.3275 |
| 2013 | 89.1815 | 55.7871 | 33.3944 |
| 2014 | 92.6159 | 62.1575 | 30.4584 |
| 2015 | 112.4073 | 70.111 | 42.2963 |
| 2016 | 119.2922 | 74.2367 | 45.0554 |
| 2017 | 122.7847 | 82.9557 | 39.829 |
| 2018 | 140.7095 | 91.9038 | 48.8056 |
Between 1975 and 2018 the value of goods exported rose from €1,838 million to €140,710 million. The value of imports rose from €2,164 million to €91,904 million. The year 2018 represented the highest level of both exports and imports on record.
The Trade in Goods balance (exports minus imports) changed from a deficit of €326 million in 1975 to a surplus of €48,806 million in 2018.
The value of exports in 2018 increased by 14.6% or €17,925 million over 2017, while imports grew by €8,948 million over the same period.
Interactive table: StatBank link
Link to release: Goods Exports and Imports
| Table 17.1 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity | |||||||||||
| €million | |||||||||||
| SITC (Rev 4) | Exports | Imports | |||||||||
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ||||
| 0 | Food and live animals | 9,878 | 10,096 | 11,375 | 11,192 | 6,687 | 6,689 | 7,188 | 7,797 | ||
| 1 | Beverages and tobacco | 1,287 | 1,333 | 1,364 | 1,441 | 876 | 914 | 908 | 905 | ||
| 2 | Crude materials, inedible, except fuels | 1,771 | 1,529 | 1,815 | 1,921 | 855 | 824 | 907 | 938 | ||
| 3 | Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials | 773 | 691 | 993 | 1,199 | 5,104 | 3,882 | 4,770 | 6,007 | ||
| 4 | Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes | 57 | 78 | 91 | 65 | 245 | 245 | 260 | 276 | ||
| 5 | Chemicals and related products | 64,224 | 66,385 | 67,834 | 85,757 | 13,978 | 14,963 | 17,501 | 19,872 | ||
| 6 | Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material | 2,105 | 2,144 | 2,284 | 2,318 | 4,698 | 4,751 | 5,064 | 5,382 | ||
| 7 | Machinery and transport equipment | 16,808 | 21,420 | 21,177 | 19,918 | 27,891 | 31,581 | 35,832 | 39,651 | ||
| 8 | Miscellaneous manufactured articles | 14,299 | 14,645 | 14,885 | 15,734 | 8,166 | 8,253 | 8,317 | 8,753 | ||
| 9 | Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere | 562 | 336 | 390 | 465 | 337 | 374 | 434 | 492 | ||
| Unclassified estimates1 | 643 | 632 | 578 | 699 | 1,275 | 1,761 | 1,774 | 1,831 | |||
| Total | 112,407 | 119,292 | 122,785 | 140,709 | 70,111 | 74,237 | 82,956 | 91,904 | |||
| 1Estimates for which a commodity classification is not available | |||||||||||
| Source: CSO | |||||||||||
The total value of goods exports has increased by 25% between 2015 and 2018, an increase of €28,302 million. Imports have increased by €21,793 million or 31% over the same period.
Exports of Chemicals and related products increased by €21,533 million to €85,757 million between 2015 and 2018, and comprised 61% of all goods exports in 2018. Exports of Food and live animals grew from €9,878 million to €11,192 million between 2015 and 2018, an increase of 13%.
Imports of Machinery and transport equipment increased from €27,891 million to €39,651 million (42%) between 2015 and 2018.
Interactive table: Statbank link
Link to release: Goods Exports and Imports
| Food and live animals | Beverages and tobacco | Crude materials, inedible, except fuels | Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials | Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes | Chemicals and related products | Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material | Machinery and transport equipment | Miscellaneous manufactured articles | Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere | Unclassified estimates | |
| Exports | 11.1924354455839 | 1.44054320201411 | 1.92050048218419 | 1.19921908034485 | 0.0650410629699378 | 85.7570682550022 | 2.31847567435684 | 19.9181616301838 | 15.7335243573083 | 0.465034492710818 | 0.699471399482115 |
| Imports | 7.79699468573377 | 0.904701190584778 | 0.937735194402603 | 6.00702750720162 | 0.276326584938777 | 19.8720795837271 | 5.38199290154994 | 39.6512906645246 | 8.75318710188005 | 0.491975106933294 | 1.83051785089371 |
The USA is Ireland’s largest export partner, accounting for €39,268 million of goods in 2018, or 28% of total exports. Belgium is the largest export market in the EU, accounting for €18,246 million of goods in 2018.
Exports to Great Britain were €14,070 million in 2018. While the value of exports to Great Britain has increased by €260 million since 2015, the share of total exports has fallen from 12% to 10%.
Interactive table: Statbank link
Link to release: Goods Exports and Imports
Ireland imported 59% of its total goods from the EU in 2018. Imports from the EU have increased by 28% between 2015 and 2018, although the share of total imports has fallen from 60% to 59%.
The single largest supplier was Great Britain, from whom €18,424 million, or 20% of all goods, was imported. Imports from the USA were €16,962 million in 2018, an increase of €6,040 million, or 55% since 2015.
Interactive table: Statbank
Link to release: Goods Exports and Imports
| Table 17.4 Concentration of value of traders 2017 | ||||
| Enterprises | Exports | Imports | ||
| € million | € million | |||
| Value | % of total | Value | % of total | |
| Top 5 | 31,471 | 26 | 12,893 | 16 |
| Top 10 | 48,889 | 40 | 19,064 | 23 |
| Top 50 | 87,413 | 72 | 38,979 | 47 |
| Top 100 | 97,808 | 80 | 47,331 | 57 |
| Top 500 | 112,868 | 93 | 64,224 | 78 |
| Total | 121,759 | 100 | 82,595 | 100 |
| Source: CSO | ||||
The Top 5 highest value exporters accounted for over €31 billion or 26% of all exports in 2017. The top 50 enterprises exported 72% of total goods, equal to €87.4 billion.
There is a greater concentration of large traders on the export side than on the import side. The top five importers accounted for €12.9 billion or 16% of total imports in 2017.
The top 50 importing enterprises had imports of €39 billion, or 47% of the total.
| X-axis label | Exports | Imports |
|---|---|---|
| Top 5 | 25.8469797119572 | 15.610003506594 |
| Top 10 | 40.151827243708 | 23.0809374072766 |
| Top 50 | 71.7917725904967 | 47.1931753216963 |
| Top 100 | 80.3287341223279 | 57.3046195696651 |
| Top 500 | 92.6975276505526 | 77.7576781904402 |
Link to release: Trade by Enterprise Characteristics
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