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CSO statistical release, , 11am

Goods Exports and Imports

December 2021

€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
Jan-Dec 2020162,13187,06575,066
Jan-Dec 2021165,213102,57462,639
% change1.917.8-16.6
Value change3,08115,508-12,427
Seasonally adjusted
November 202114,5329,2855,248
December 202113,6159,4274,188
% change-6.31.5-20.2
Value change-917143-1,060

Goods exports exceeded €165 billion in 2021

Figure 1 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted
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Preliminary figures for 2021 show that goods exports were valued at €165,213 million in 2021, the highest total on record. This is an increase of €3,081 million (+2%) over 2020.

The largest category of exports was Medical and pharmaceutical products. Exports of these goods accounted for 38% of all exports, or €62,631 million in 2021. This represents an increase of €535 million (+1%) on the 2020 value.

Exports
Total Exports 1.90055907972044
Food and live animals4.11983211222326
Chemicals and related products-3.11314873047026
Machinery and transport equipment8.54016451210678
Miscellaneous manufactured articles16.5472896333638

Goods imports increased by €15.5 billion in 2021

Imports in 2021 increased compared to 2020, growing by €15,508 million (+18%) to €102,574 million. This is the first time imports have exceeded €100 billion for the year.

Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft were valued at €14,402 million in 2021, or 14% of total imports. This was an increase of €540 million (+4%) on the 2020 level of imports.

Imports of Mineral fuels increased by €2,785 million (+82%) in 2021 to €6,171 million.

The value of goods imports for 2021 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €88,172 million, an increase of €14,968 million (+20%) when compared with the corresponding 2020 figure of €73,204 million.

Imports
Total Imports 17.812306955532
Food and live animals-8.53520716253989
Mineral fuels82.2246907281029
Chemicals and related products20.1912666613634
Machinery and transport equipment20.0923245538222

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €900 million in December 2021

The value of seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €917 million (-6%) to €13,615 million in December 2021 compared with November 2021, according to preliminary figures.

The value of goods imports increased by €143 million (+2%) to €9,427 million on a seasonally adjusted basis. This means that there was a decrease of €1,060 million (-20%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,188 million in December 2021 (see Table 2). 

December 2021 exports increased by almost €750 million over December 2020

The (unadjusted) value of goods exports for December 2021 was €13,093 million representing an increase of €742 million (+6%) when compared with December 2020.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €463 million (+11%) to €4,624 million in December 2021 when compared with December 2020.

Exports of Electrical machinery, appliances, apparatus and parts increased by €426 million (+58%) to €1,157 million.

Exports of Organic chemicals decreased by €358 million (-17%) to €1,787 million over the same comparative period (see Table 3).

Imports increased by €1.6 billion in December 2021

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for December 2021 was €10,605 million representing an increase of €1,601 million (+18%) when compared with December 2020.

Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft increased by €345 million (+19%) to €2,186 million compared with December 2020, and accounted for 20% of the total value of imports.

Imports of Petroleum increased by €261 million (+139%) to €450 million in December 2021.

Imports of Organic chemicals increased by €393 million (+55%) to €1,112 million over the same comparative period.

Imports of Electrical machinery, appliances, apparatus and parts increased by €390 million (+124%) to €704 million.

The value of goods imports for December 2021 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €8,419 million, an increase of €1,256 million (+18%) when compared with the corresponding December 2020 figure of €7,163 million (see Table 3).

Trade deficit of €950 million with Great Britain in 2021

Exports to Great Britain in 2021 were €14,409 million, which is an increase of €2,100 million (+17%) compared with 2020. Exports to Great Britain accounted for 9% of total exports in 2021.

Imports from Great Britain in 2021 were €15,367 million, a decrease of €2,371 million (-13%) when compared with 2020, meaning there was a trade deficit of €958 million with Great Britain in 2021. Imports from Great Britain accounted for 15% of total imports in 2021.

Exports to Great Britain in December 2021 were €1,137 million, a decrease of €62 million (-5%) compared with December 2020. The main changes were decreases in the exports of Food and live animals, with an increase in the exports of Chemicals and related products (see Table 5). Exports to Great Britain accounted for 9% of total exports in December 2021.

Imports from Great Britain decreased by €84 million (-4%) to €1,882 million compared with December 2020. The main decreases were in the imports of Food and live animals and Machinery and transport equipment with an increase in the imports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and Chemicals and related products (see Table 5). Imports from Great Britain were 18% of the value of total imports in December 2021.

Imports from Northern Ireland of almost €4 billion in 2021

Imports from Northern Ireland in 2021 increased by €1,556 million (+65%) to €3,956 million when compared with 2020.

Exports to Northern Ireland were €3,696 million in 2021, an increase of €1,290 million (+54%) on 2020 (see Table 5).

 

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €61,445 million (37%) of total exports in 2021, a decrease of €2,769 million (-4%) on 2020. There were exports of €17,756 million to Germany and €13,515 million to Belgium.

Exports to non-EU countries were valued at €103,768 million in 2021, which is an increase of €5,850 million (+6%) on the 2020 level of exports. The USA was the largest export destination in 2021, accounting for €52,526 million or 32% of total exports.

There were €34,285 million of imports from the EU in 2021, representing 33% of total imports. This was an increase of €3,909 million (+13%) on 2020.

Imports from non-EU countries totalled €68,289 million in 2021, an increase of €11,600 million (+20%) on the 2020 level of imports.

The EU accounted for €4,646 million (35%) of total exports in December 2021, of which €1,360 million went to Germany and €1,021 million went to Belgium. Exports to EU countries in December 2021 decreased by €360 million (-7%) compared with December 2020.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,060 million (31%) of total exports in December 2021.

Imports from the EU were €3,319 million (31%) of total imports in December 2021, which is a decrease of €28 million (-1%) over the same month in 2020.

The UK with €2,130 million (20%), the USA with €2,088 million (20%), and China with €920 million (9%) were the main non-EU sources of imports (see Table 4).

%
NI2.2370618516831
GB8.72142536546555
EU2737.1912990521093
US31.7928646199501
Rest of World20.0573491107919
%
NI3.85654110805726
GB14.9815862716714
EU2733.4242710272855
US17.3872667767996
Rest of
World		31.3503348161862
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
Jul 20205.348114540263082.6471967321.14297758426334.479003922
Aug 20205.174296165258912.117162432000011.274205361679994.369607584
Sep 20205.5039265438922.4917830271.270070754553094.724914438
Oct 20204.81805991760172.626554495000011.22090737845893.56454735
Nov 20206.021616263259082.64785531.695028676538974.553828941
Dec 20205.006680192712032.2638800311.37826576046933.701794393
Jan 20214.506236241177442.7276752561.162929857082784.932282209
Feb 20214.642070998198852.3432439821.077839088384824.252122179
Mar 20215.710691566330182.8991169021.555858518181134.542633046
Apr 20214.907132634668442.456983960000011.349188522326513.57577931
May 20215.454788102699732.6899964281.501400880562473.90149927
Jun 20215.602143243949043.1127727041.753209936016544.281263191
Jul 20214.509189213875862.9915597571.781240864986053.750232916
Aug 20214.83951618317052.7857935761.296000269577094.219442457
Sep 20215.84611269813112.7936636461.717869906154254.346289045
Oct 20215.083220157806492.6568815041.396028344677345.714491727
Nov 20215.6973678154882.7636026822.04248457650134.949828165
Dec 20214.646198198053262.9159532461.47073760351844.059916198
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
Jul 20202.974963223764662.391360507528531.648884212705391.36290077517253
Aug 20202.186137289334941.478088867316541.43220985465110.902371437175495
Sep 20202.076002213153771.587480596098521.629320270561471.17098126835251
Oct 20202.372589103307851.903042215740732.255044879217721.1290342639743
Nov 20203.46545869996792.655871623180892.123676705989491.09758476189086
Dec 20203.347811892335542.043576188516462.126101054414981.48609245314246
Jan 20212.221333590981842.02561792527370.959108878255861.23461466810489
Feb 20212.22163630607962.040335588116911.136962802884071.24780358320128
Mar 20213.223804205724072.684320348989141.700308598101591.61071404313418
Apr 20212.818468024699772.706764477614571.489200575880161.23441473238069
May 20213.41812880199522.340162514374051.553997127353571.44673599207556
Jun 20213.686537758305623.12188091276261.778374552956661.30265117268739
Jul 20212.767096027386632.212151886952281.479781617049181.33404242455141
Aug 20212.214733201511152.441100752427511.593037060900241.58280299678345
Sep 20212.482049357773062.499785131334431.705085894116511.63227285899282
Oct 20212.60814093992542.737033270577511.897519934661791.57039991365675
Nov 20213.303267691447143.254645566346551.899999652637451.55024626968088
Dec 20213.319346864762323.067691411736682.129605198837122.08808047834051

Exports by industrial origin and Imports by main use

Industrial produce accounted for €11,996 million (92%) of total exports in December 2021. This is an increase of €669 million (+6%) when compared with December 2020. There was €4,205 million of this exported to the EU, €3,904 million exported to the USA and €1,130 million to the UK.  Agricultural produce accounted for €943 million (7%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €2,974 million (28%) of total imports in December 2021, an increase of €386 million (+15%) when compared with December 2020.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €2,343 million (22%) of total imports in December 2021, and Materials for further production accounted for €5,157 million (49%) (see Table 7).

*It should be noted that the detailed data described in Paragraphs 1-6, and the data in Tables 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are not seasonally adjusted.  Only the data described in paragraphs 7 and 8 and in Table 2 are seasonally adjusted.

 

From 1st January 2021 all trade in goods with Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) is treated as non-EU trade and must be reported to Revenue’s Customs declaration systems. Prior to this, data on trade with Great Britain were collected via the Intrastat survey. Under the Revised Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland is legally part of the customs territory of the UK, but effectively remains within the EU Single Market for the movement of goods. In practise, this means that trade in goods with Northern Ireland continue to be reported on the Intrastat survey and on VAT returns.

The results reflect both new data collection methods and changes in trading patterns due to Brexit. We are continuing to work on quality improvements as we incorporate the new data sources and detail available to us from January 2021. The latest results also include revisions to imports from Great Britain for 2021 as some trade that was previously recorded with unknown country of origin has been revised to trade with Great Britain.
Table 1 Goods Exports and Imports summary analysis
Period€millionBase year 2010=100
Value1Volume index2Unit value index2Terms of trade3
ExportsImportsTrade surplusExportsImportsExportsImports
2016119,29274,29644,996 125.6  158.2  102.7  93.3  110.2
2017122,78582,94339,842 135.8  168.9  99.3  96.1  103.3
2018140,64591,99148,654 156.2  189.2  99.1  99.5  99.6
2019152,53491,01961,515 168.5  192.7  99.5  96.6  103.0
2020162,13187,06575,066 188.6  194.4  94.4  91.7  103.0
2021165,213102,57462,639..........
          
2019January13,4857,6625,824 179.1  196.0  99.4  96.3  103.2
February12,4146,5275,887 164.9  165.8  99.3  96.6  102.8
March11,6777,6584,019 155.5  198.2  99.1  95.4  103.8
April12,7917,3415,451 169.7  190.7  99.4  94.8  104.9
May13,6987,3566,342 182.1  189.2  99.3  95.8  103.6
June12,0507,4614,589 160.1  190.3  99.3  96.6  102.8
July13,3647,9785,385 177.2  203.2  99.5  96.2  103.4
August11,7586,7355,023 156.2  172.8  99.3  96.0  103.5
September12,5077,3655,143 166.2  187.7  99.5  96.6  102.9
October14,2888,6145,675 189.4  218.6  99.5  97.0  102.6
November12,8447,8444,999 169.5  194.7  99.9  97.5  102.5
December11,6578,4783,179 153.5  212.3  100.2  96.9  103.4
          
2020January14,9897,1087,882 207.1  185.4  95.5  94.5  101.1
February11,5707,9713,599 166.4  215.7  91.7  91.1  100.7
March17,6646,66710,997 236.9  175.7  98.4  93.5  105.2
April11,3435,5715,772 160.3  147.7  93.3  93.0  100.4
May12,8756,1536,722 180.3  163.8  94.2  92.6  101.7
June13,6476,7506,897 182.4  175.4  98.7  94.8  104.1
July13,6178,3785,239 191.8  221.6  93.7  93.1  100.5
August12,9355,9996,937 182.8  164.5  93.3  89.9  103.8
September13,9916,4647,527 196.7  166.0  94.0  94.1  99.9
October12,2307,6604,570 173.8  210.0  92.9  89.2  104.1
November14,9189,3435,576 211.3  261.4  92.8  87.7  105.8
December12,3519,0043,347 170.0  252.6  94.8  87.0  108.9
          
20214January13,3296,4416,888 206.8  175.8  85.1  88.6  96.1
February12,3156,6475,669 178.7  181.8  91.1  90.1  101.1
March14,7089,2195,489 225.1  237.4  86.3  95.8  90.1
April12,2898,2494,040 184.0  215.9  88.2  94.2  93.6
May13,5488,7594,789 199.9  229.0  88.9  90.0  98.8
June14,7499,8894,860 223.2  253.5  87.1  95.7  91.1
July13,0327,7935,239 182.8  206.6  94.1  93.1  101.1
August13,1417,8325,309 181.2  204.3  95.8  94.6  101.2
September14,7048,3196,385 199.7  209.0  97.2  98.7  98.5
October14,8518,8136,038 198.1  226.6  98.9  96.0  103.0
November15,45310,0085,445 216.7  252.1  94.2  98.2  95.9
 December13,09310,6052,488 185.2  270.9  93.3  96.7  96.6
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000, see background notes.
2 Monthly data have been rescaled to make their average equal to the annual.
3 Export unit value index divided by import unit value index.
4 Revised. December 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
.. Indices not yet available.
Open in Excel: Goods Exports and Imports December 2021 Table 1 (XLS 14KB)
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Table 2 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted1 series
Period€millionBase year 2010=100
ValueVolume index
ExportsImportsTrade surplusExportsImports
2019January12,9787,4795,499 172.3  198.3
 February13,0626,9526,109 175.2  174.8
 March11,5417,3094,232 149.3  190.5
 April12,7127,3875,325 164.6  195.3
 May12,6727,3665,306 172.9  192.3
 June12,3147,3784,936 163.8  189.7
 July13,2938,1625,131 178.1  207.3
 August12,4887,6454,843 165.4  192.0
 September12,7637,5885,174 170.3  195.8
 October14,1107,8316,280 181.7  195.6
 November12,4147,4994,915 163.4  187.3
 December12,3817,7604,621 168.4  186.8
 
2020January13,6727,6216,051 191.0  186.4
February12,1308,2063,924 174.5  211.0
March16,7846,34610,438 212.6  155.5
April11,3645,9635,401 157.2  153.2
May12,9016,4496,451 181.5  169.2
June12,9806,3656,615 171.1  168.9
July13,1668,1255,041 186.0  225.2
August14,1137,1226,992 198.3  197.0
September13,6016,4967,105 193.6  159.5
October12,3877,2565,130 171.7  200.8
November14,5228,7555,767 200.7  258.7
December12,9727,6455,328 185.2  213.4
       
2021January13,0067,4825,525 210.1  201.4
February12,8627,5725,290 189.4  205.8
March13,4448,1665,277 199.3  212.6
April12,7448,3304,414 185.2  223.9
May13,6958,6465,049 201.6  238.5
June13,9619,0444,917 206.9  233.4
July13,4148,2855,129 191.6  213.8
August13,9868,7475,239 194.5  224.9
September14,2438,4935,750 197.1  216.6
October15,0978,8166,280 200.5  223.4
November14,5329,2855,248 199.9  228.4
 December13,6159,4274,188 194.8  235.5
1 Seasonally adjusted data has been revised from January 2010 onwards using X-13-ARIMA methodology, implemented in JDEMETRA+. Previously X-11 methodology was used.
Open in Excel: Goods Exports and Imports December 2021 Table 2 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity1
€million
SITC (Rev 4)ExportsImports
DecDecJan-DecJan-DecDecDecJan-DecJan-Dec
20202021202020212020202120202021
0Food and live animals1,0761,15111,66612,1478007087,9817,299
 00Live animals other than animals of Division 0357384195349958480310
 01Meat and meat preparations4323663,8653,9888875902864
 02Dairy products and birds' eggs2533932,9773,3418461917775
 03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof43485316032723288258
 04Cereals and cereal preparations44455395631351311,2431,220
 05Vegetables and fruit33293253951311121,3551,225
 06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey891241223128399350
 07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof29294214216650658595
 08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)4043395450701159651,069
 09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1371522,0721,7296856774633
1Beverages and tobacco1341551,4581,753101791,0841,003
 11Beverages 1341541,4571,75293761,010932
 12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0011837471
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1351761,4232,06281969531,044
 21Hides, skins and furskins, raw6656720000
 22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 13917262428
 23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 1457901913
 24Cork and wood14141822722120194266
 25Pulp and waste paper564184325635
 26Textile fibres and their wastes910111140121114
 27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)1771251181519168192
 28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap731147781,1462024225223
 29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes9111171342021265273
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials108807799402988373,3876,171
 32Coal, coke and briquettes981129261367211
 33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials87235947051884502,5443,926
 34Gas, natural and manufactured201520933607021,707
 35Electric current94959123101574327
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes910851132534297355
 41Animal oils and fats687096231924
 42Fixed vegetable fats and oils1212162131247305
 43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes1031313026
5Chemicals and related products7,1917,511105,818102,5241,7882,36121,50925,852
 51Organic chemicals2,1451,78731,17525,8717191,1128,09110,404
 52Inorganic chemicals15303343462537324364
 53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials881131342119261282
 54Medical and pharmaceutical products4,1614,62462,09662,6316726858,4069,491
 55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations5366477,7408,3481131461,3521,484
 56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)01892458399518
 57Plastics in primary forms302238932560898781,113
 58Plastics in non-primary forms38545338645388721918
 59Chemical materials and products nes2573393,4313,9971021271,0761,278
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1802032,3272,7834585375,8136,799
 61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins233340221928
 62Rubber manufactures nes15241222423237364460
 63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)19252654092331318397
 64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof14151781988088955962
 65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products12141591705050789635
 66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes41404685835568643813
 67Iron and steel131316020359767761,078
 68Non-ferrous metals811921363758515730
 69Manufactures of metals nes56568508021201261,4341,698
7Machinery and transport equipment2,1452,21522,72524,6664,2284,65433,49640,227
 71Power generating machinery and equipment521029151,6975261921,9742,129
 72Machinery specialised for particular industries69517377551331631,6151,791
 73Metalworking machinery3228411211120142
 74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1501481,6491,7852092512,0872,467
 75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)4594084,8183,9895094665,1384,890
 76Telecommunications and sound equipment1011271,1781,0642221932,1052,349
 77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts7321,1579,37311,9563147043,4168,055
 78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)44323604094634893,1794,001
 79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)5361883,6672,9691,8402,18613,86214,402
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,2621,47614,92517,3959701,16510,28712,053
 81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings10101271392535268411
 82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc17131951575371557751
 83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers4334331918130157
 84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories20212182582172222,2002,526
 85Footwear3330324651443510
 87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5265735,9827,1241691862,2342,231
 88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1231301,3601,5944945540556
 89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes5607246,9808,0593925363,9154,912
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere1535149203279289134
Unclassified estimates297827756282291251,9701,635
           
Total12,35113,093162,131165,2129,00410,60587,065102,574
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. December 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
2 Estimates for which a commodity classification is not available.
Open in Excel: Goods Exports and Imports December 2021 Table 3 (XLS 19KB)
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Table 4 Goods Exports and Imports classified by country1
€million
CountryExportsImports
DecDecJan-DecJan-DecDecDecJan-DecJan-Dec
20202021202020212020202120202021
Austria29213573442125285303
Belgium1,0711,02117,88313,5151311891,9182,240
Bulgaria68131128233840
Croatia445576121824
Cyprus2627440037
Czech Republic28714346358683727986
Denmark44405875484651571616
Estonia151571121220
Finland27222733161328156450
France4684165,4445,3041,4031,1579,90610,247
Germany1,6501,36017,57817,7567087567,1447,228
Greece158391,7661,0998969105
Hungary 18272533351730261270
Italy 2832764,6804,3241902341,7812,150
Latvia1188796474868
Lithuania5869110810101119
Luxembourg72615781334052
Malta4441679111112
Netherlands6807048,5999,3352563233,1264,421
Poland831461,1561,3946972831865
Portugal23323676428529355301
Romania3447393555810105115
Slovakia88115130585596
Slovenia916146201633646
Spain1792022,5622,3151381511,7081,749
Sweden61747828575866504822
EU Country not specified247742575528168567932
Total EU2735,0074,64664,21461,4453,3483,31930,37634,285
Euro-Zone44,6814,15460,16556,3642,9802,93326,75429,614
         
Great Britain1,2001,13712,30914,4091,9651,88217,73815,367
Northern Ireland1793332,4063,6961612482,4003,956
Total UK1,3781,47114,71518,1052,1262,13020,13819,323
         
Australia7373889837811117106
Brazil28232983575451283350
Canada781751,8531,3225964829638
China59241,22711,03611,8927099206,6568,444
India39333665234167522839
Japan2431713,4732,6891061381,3541,388
Malaysia132021923132414651,841
Mexico861501,6002,0173943398448
Norway26182947764432493786
Russia32684456272066292598
Saudi Arabia4257627686125971
Singapore3646521499713468498
South Africa2922306380513100163
South Korea49706576831132491,1071,501
Switzerland107743,2212,813714534,1405,123
Taiwan29294673485564563806
Thailand13411432213641409527
Turkey397366271866996161,029
USA3,7024,06050,53652,5261,4862,08813,47817,835
Other countries3744475,3525,2622006772,5915,751
Country unknown6299238257376251,614223
Total Non-EU (excl UK)5,9666,97683,20285,6633,5305,15636,55248,966
         
Total12,35113,093162,131165,2129,00410,60587,065102,574
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. December 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
2 Includes estimates for traders below the Intrastat threshold and transactions where the EU country was not specified.
3 From February 2020 the United Kingdom exited the EU, therefore the EU total is made up of the 27 remaining member states. For data comparability over time the EU are shown separately for both the current and prior periods.
4 Euro-zone members from January 2015: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
5 China includes Hong Kong and Macao.
6 Trade for which the country of origin or country of final destination is unknown.
Open in Excel: Goods Exports and Imports December 2021 Table 4 (XLS 19KB)
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Table 5 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity and principal countries1
€million
  ExportsImports
Country by Section level of SITCDecDecJan-DecJan-DecDecDecJan-DecJan-Dec
20202021202020212020202120202021
Great Britain1,2001,13712,30914,4091,9651,88217,73815,367
0Food and live animals4522823,7033,4163812063,1352,005
1Beverages and tobacco17201942353016281209
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels3737351459178188119
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials54312743131634961,6822,835
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes211710444236
5Chemicals and related products2584483,7675,2574505552,7422,675
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material69647779701871432,0061,870
7Machinery and transport equipment1961661,8902,4114132604,2823,405
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles90891,0741,3132391902,4932,193
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere2512612681488820
Northern Ireland1793332,4063,6961612482,4003,956
0Food and live animals611269191,35461807141,020
1Beverages and tobacco68801001819197223
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels79951466984131
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials830561231429159341
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes121119233031
5Chemicals and related products2353388679518280850
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material25363405182334381506
7Machinery and transport equipment12311713521422249292
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles2435225332715137222
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere115120741119169339
EU 2725,0074,64664,21461,4453,3483,31930,37634,285
0Food and live animals3433643,8503,8972652432,8162,718
1Beverages and tobacco37323994474030420394
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels60826209453028289370
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials18191811693369310785
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes4646661420160202
5Chemicals and related products3,4272,99247,30942,4206206297,2409,179
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material43606308141301701,6932,022
7Machinery and transport equipment5935305,6776,3491,8641,78514,30214,692
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4194835,0745,7452162362,1162,585
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere63804275931371091,0301,336
USA3,7024,06050,53652,5261,4862,08813,47817,835
0Food and live animals231423965961638211296
1Beverages and tobacco5656562658121725
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels221925375064
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials0001947147765876
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0-000011
5Chemicals and related products2,7862,97140,11840,5972753714,1225,132
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material24233712302932411494
7Machinery and transport equipment3773303,9764,3021,0131,3756,5879,324
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4325355,0636,076941151,2441,570
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere223223817253
China39241,22711,03611,8927099206,6568,444
0Food and live animals5252810698486074
1Beverages and tobacco119100011
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels464554352843
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials--000405
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes10550001
5Chemicals and related products1042331,7182,043551795051,041
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2326334484647895
7Machinery and transport equipment6578227,2887,7164123523,5713,896
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1051091,1341,3321832881,8082,488
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere000180361
Rest of World1,3401,68921,63121,2451,3342,14716,41822,688
0Food and live animals1451851,9872,186731341,0451,186
1Beverages and tobacco17382143041212169150
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels26412924322339314317
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials29126831640924721,330
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes11613586384
5Chemicals and related products59381412,51811,5283846096,6206,975
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material171818321946746751,012
7Machinery and transport equipment3103363,7233,5365128594,5068,617
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1922262,3552,5972313202,4902,995
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere1129841141006421
         
Total12,35113,093162,131165,2139,00410,60587,065102,574
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. December 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
2 Includes estimates for traders below the Intrastat threshold and transactions where the EU country was not specified.
3 China includes Hong Kong and Macao.
Open in Excel: Goods Exports and Imports December 2021 Table 5 (XLS 19KB)
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Table 6 Goods Exports by industrial origin and area of destination
€million
Industrial origin and areaExports
DecDecJan-DecJan-Dec
2020202120202021
Agricultural produce8649438,5299,372
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4273133,4423,569
EU12843243,0473,443
USA25155417616
Rest of World1271511,6221,744
     
Forestry and fishing produce5763719884
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1718231321
EU13339334391
USA0024
Rest of World76153169
     
Industrial produce11,32711,996151,992154,208
Great Britain and Northern Ireland8961,13010,62714,083
EU14,6264,20560,41557,041
USA3,6763,90450,10951,898
Rest of World2,1282,75830,84131,186
     
Unclassified exports10290891748
     
Total12,35113,093162,131165,212
1EU excluding Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Open in Excel: Goods Exports and Imports December 2021 Table 6 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 7 Goods Imports by main use and area of origin
€million
Main use and area of originImports
DecDecJan-DecJan-Dec
2020202120202021
Producers capital goods ready for use2,5872,97420,05921,502
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2631582,6541,644
EU11,1531,44910,05211,071
USA7291,0963,9815,918
Rest of World4422713,3732,869
     
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco6465216,6556,040
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3402253,4012,716
EU12532212,5562,474
USA364985
Rest of World5068649765
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,5931,82215,69718,562
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4565124,3295,166
EU15134644,5024,750
USA1481702,0062,317
Rest of World4766764,8616,329
     
Materials for further production - agriculture1792512,3212,597
Great Britain and Northern Ireland6752628584
EU16784832933
USA1937272347
Rest of World2778590733
Materials for further production - other3,7484,90640,13152,160
Great Britain and Northern Ireland9081,1608,0678,860
EU11,22499311,40213,729
USA5827787,1319,150
Rest of World1,0341,97513,53120,421
     
Unclassified imports2511312,2021,712
     
Total9,00410,60587,065102,574
1EU excluding Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Open in Excel: Goods Exports and Imports December 2021 Table 7 (XLS 12KB)
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Background Notes

Introduction

Goods Exports and Imports statistics 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. The collection of trade data is the responsibility of VIMA (a branch of Revenue). The CSO is responsible for processing and disseminating the data.

Revisions to the Trade in Goods statistics

Since May 2015, significant revisions were incorporated into International Trade in Goods statistics. While the most significant revision is due to recording trade in aircraft on a "transfer of economic ownership" basis, other revisions were incorporated into the Trade data back to 2000. 

Along with the aircraft revisions Goods Exports revisions also include upward revisions due to revaluing some products that had previously been recorded on a “transfer of economic ownership” basis, which was not in line with goods statistics methodology. Also Goods Imports revisions include downward revisions due to a change in the estimation methodology for non-response.

The technical note gives more detail on the revised trade in aircraft methodology and explains the impact the revisions will have on Trade in Goods, National Accounts and Balance of Payments.

Standard Revisions

Trade figures are subject to revision on the incorporation of late Intrastat and VAT returns and corrections made by traders. When the preliminary results for a month are published, the results for months -1 (November 2021 in this publication), -4 (August 2021) and -8 (April 2021) are revised. Following the move to a "transfer of economic ownership" basis for recording exports and imports of aircraft, SITC 79 figures are subject to revision on the incorporation of transactions from quarterly Balance of Payments (BoP) surveys. Such revisions will generally be incorporated into Goods Exports and Imports releases that coincide with quarterly BoP publications, i.e. when initial results are published for January, April, July and October.

Intrastat System

The Intrastat system has two components. Firstly, the Intrastat survey (conducted by the Revenue Commissioners), in which traders, above the Intrastat survey trade thresholds, make detailed monthly returns giving information on the quantity and value of all exports to or imports from EU countries.

The total number of traders required to make a detailed import return is around 5,200 while around 2,200 must make a detailed export return. The response rate in terms of number of traders in December 2021 was 75%, covering an estimated 93% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for December is published).

The second component of the Intrastat system is the regular VAT return, on which all traders are required to record the total value of goods imported from and exported to other EU countries. This information provides the basis for determining total EU trade for those traders below the Intrastat survey thresholds. It is also used to maintain the register of EU traders.

Extrastat System

The statistics of trade with non-EU countries are compiled from the documents supplied by importers and exporters to the Customs authorities. The document is the Single Administrative Document (SAD) used for Customs clearance purposes.

Estimation

The figures in this release include estimates for traders above the Intrastat thresholds who did not make detailed returns for the period and for traders below the thresholds who did not provide aggregate intra-EU trade figures on their VAT returns.

Estimates for Intrastat non-respondents are apportioned to individual commodities and countries whenever previous Intrastat returns are available. Estimates for traders below the Intrastat thresholds are assigned to partner country where possible, but not to commodity.

More information is now being processed on lower value transactions. Prior to January 2012, transactions below €254 were grouped together, this value has now decreased to €127. Therefore, this has resulted in more detail being available at commodity level in Table 3 and at country level in Tables 4 and 5.

Unit Value Indices

The monthly unit value index measures monthly unit value trends relative to the annual levels in the preceding year using value weights relating to that year’s trade (Laspeyres index).

The annual index is compiled using value weights for both the current and previous year (Fisher index) to allow for change in the structure of trade in goods.

The monthly index series should be regarded as interim measures suitable for month-to-month comparisons within a given year. Previous monthly indices are revised when late returns are received.

When the annual unit value index is compiled, the monthly unit value indices are rescaled to make their average equal to the annual index.

The unit value index series has been rebased to 2010 from 1990. In the course of this rebasing, a detailed examination of the series was undertaken. This exercise has produced a number of modifications enabling production of a more robust series.

Seasonally Adjusted Series

In the April 2020 release the seasonal adjustment methodology for trade in goods data was updated from X-11 to X-13-ARIMA model. The X-13-ARIMA method is implemented in JDEMETRA+, the standard Eurostat software package for Seasonal Adjustment.

X-13-ARIMA incorporates significant new types of modelling capability for the issues commonly faced in seasonal adjustment, and also produces sophisticated diagnostics to help improve seasonal adjustment.

The seasonally adjusted series have been revised back to January 2010 using the new methodology.

Methodology

There are methodological differences between the measurement of exports and imports in this release compared with Industrial Production, National Accounts and Balance of Payments statistics. This release records the movement of all goods over the frontier at the valuation placed on the goods at the time of crossing the frontier. Industrial Production, National Accounts and Balance of Payments statistics take account of additional aspects of cross-frontier activities such as goods sent abroad for processing where goods cross the frontier without change of ownership. The CSO releases for those statistics provide more information on their methodology.

Services Exports and Imports

The quarterly Balance of Payments (BoP) statistics provide detail on Services exports and imports.

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