Exports of Chemicals & Related Products accounted for 64% of total Irish exports.
There were over €80 billion Irish exports to the European Union (EU) in 2022, and over €42 billion imports.
The United Kingdom (UK) was our biggest import partner in 2022, accounting for 21% of our imports.
In 2022, a quarter of our exports to the UK were Food & Live Animals.
Just five enterprises accounted for 43% of our total exports.
Small & Medium Enterprises exported €38 billion of goods in 2022 and imported €72 billion.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (18 December 2023) released Ireland’s Trade in Goods 2022.
Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician, International Trade in Goods Division said: “In 2022, Ireland exported more than €208 billion of goods and imported €141 billion, which were the highest levels ever recorded. Exports of Chemicals & Related Products accounted for almost two-thirds of total exports, with a value of more than €134 billion.
The EU accounted for more than €80 billion of our exports, while the US was the largest single export partner with exports of more than €63 billion.
Ireland’s biggest import partner in 2022 was the UK, with €29.4 billion of our imports. In January 2021, Great Britain left the EU customs union, and traders had to complete customs forms to import or export goods with Great Britain. Northern Ireland stayed within the customs union.
Imports from the UK increased by €10 billion in 2022 compared with 2021. Imports of Mineral Fuels & Petroleum increased by more than €5 billion.
Exports to Great Britain in 2022 were €17.2 billion, which was up 19% compared with 2021. This was mainly due to increases in the exports of Chemicals & Related Products.
This publication also examines the profiles of the types of enterprises who exported and imported goods in 2022. It shows that just five enterprises accounted for 43%, or €88 billion, of our total exports in 2022.
There were more than 11,000 Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) exporting goods in 2022, accounting for €38 billion of exports, while almost 49,000 SMEs imported goods to a value of €72 billion.”