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E-mail: Trade@cso.ie Orla.McCarthy@cso.ie Ciarán.Counihan@cso.ie
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CSO statistical release, , 11am

Goods Exports and Imports

January 2022

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
December 202113,3289,6553,674
January 202215,50010,2275,273
% change16.35.943.5
Value change2,1725731,599

Seasonally adjusted goods trade exports increased by nearly €2.2 billion in January 2022

Figure 1 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted
go to full release

Seasonally adjusted goods exports increased by €2,171 million (+16%) to €15,500 million in January 2022 compared with December 2021, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €572 million (+6%) to €10,227 million leading to an increase of €1,599 million (+44%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €5,273 million in January 2022 compared with the previous month (see Table 2). Seasonal adjustment compares month-to-month data by removing fluctuations that may occur due to seasonal patterns in trade.

Exports increased by €3.1 billion in January 2022 compared with January 2021

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for January 2022 was €16,456 million representing an increase of €3,126 million (+23%) when compared with January 2021.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €1,272 million (+21%) to €7,217 million in January 2022 compared with January 2021. This represented 44% of the total value of exports.

Exports of Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances increased by €412 million (+59%) to €1,108 million.

Exports of Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus increased by €211 million (+42%) to €710 million.

Exports of Food and live animals increased by €189 million (+26%) to €902 million over the same comparative period (see Table 3).

Imports increased by €2.6 billion in January 2022 compared with January 2021

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for January 2022 was €9,066 million representing an increase of €2,625 million (+41%) when compared with January 2021.

Imports of Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances increased by €464 million (+195%) to €701 million in January 2022 compared with January 2021.

Imports of Mineral fuels increased by €523 million (+145%) to €883 million.

Imports of Food and live animals increased by €267 million (+61%) to €705 million over the same comparative period.

Imports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €143 million (+26%) to €700 million (see Table 3).

The value of goods imports for January 2022 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €8,328 million, an increase of €2,824 million (+51%) when compared with the corresponding January 2021 figure of €5,504 million (see Table 3).

Exports to Great Britain increased by over €450 million in January 2022 over January 2021

Exports to Great Britain in January 2022 were €1,406 million, an increase of €458 million (+48%) compared with January 2021. The main changes were increases in the exports of Chemicals and related products and Machinery and transport equipment (see Table 5). Exports to Great Britain accounted for 9% of total exports in January 2022.

Imports from Great Britain increased by €1,059 million (+144%) to €1,797 million compared with January 2021. The main increases were in the imports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, Chemicals and related products, and Machinery and transport equipment (see Table 5). Imports from Great Britain were 20% of the value of total imports in January 2022.

Imports from Northern Ireland were €300 million in January 2022

Imports from Northern Ireland in January 2022 increased by €79 million (+36%) to €300 million when compared with January 2021.

Exports to Northern Ireland were €322 million in January 2022, an increase of €107 million (+50%) on the same period in 2021 (see Table 5).

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €6,500 million (39%) of total goods exports in January 2022 of which €1,928 million went to Germany and €1,652 million went to Belgium. Total EU exports in January 2022 increased by €1,994 million (+44%) compared with January 2021.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €5,381 million (33%) of total exports in January 2022.

The EU accounted for €2,570 million (28%) of total goods imports in January 2022, which is an increase of €348 million (+16%) compared with January 2021.

The UK with €2,097 million (23%), the USA with €1,210 million (13%), and China with €945 million (10%) were the main non-EU sources of imports (see Table 4).

%
NI1.95501411258603
GB8.54510694149055
EU2739.4998630113243
US32.7020627484039
Rest of World17.2979531861952
%
NI3.30736433409458
GB19.8260861922362
EU2728.3445997083726
US13.3452024549646
Rest of
World
35.676747310332
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
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 20214.526851182794343.1345597571.790837127557283.750234214
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 20214.597053594513492.9126578181.476770773647183.945519212
Jan 20226.499932128783472.8464787751.727855971954675.38131457
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
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 20212.791743766344012.209228411696841.458667579085141.33649898302701
Aug 20212.214733201511152.467736357427511.601117903900241.58341804778344
Sep 20212.482049357773062.525658104334431.715827951116511.63327801599282
Oct 20212.60814093992542.765491251577511.908068262661791.57179060465675
Nov 20213.303267691447143.299415217346551.909759949637451.55171638268088
Dec 20213.312755302002723.148435264448382.163268774015282.17559744508009
Jan 20222.569697536853543.1890942841992.09725914100231.2098648148206

Exports by industrial origin and Imports by main use

Industrial produce accounted for €15,552 million (95%) of total exports in January 2022. This is an increase of €2,838 million (+22%) when compared with January 2021. There was €6,080 million of this exported to the EU, €5,355 million to the USA and €1,420 million to the UK. Agricultural produce accounted for €652 million (4%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €1,349 million (15%) of total imports in January 2022, a decrease of €56 million (-4%) when compared with January 2021.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €2,202 million (24%) of total imports, and Materials for further production accounted for €5,254 million (58%) (see Table 7).

 *It should be noted that the detailed data described in Paragraph 3 onwards, and the data in Tables 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are not seasonally adjusted. Only the data described in the first two paragraphs 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
2021165,222102,94262,280..........
          
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
July13,2037,7965,406 185.5  206.1  93.9  93.2  100.8
August13,1417,8675,274 181.2  204.3  95.8  94.6  101.2
September14,7048,3576,347 199.7  209.0  97.2  98.7  98.5
October14,8518,8545,997 198.1  226.6  98.9  96.0  103.0
November15,45310,0645,389 216.7  252.1  94.2  98.2  95.9
December12,93210,8002,132 182.7  273.0  93.4  97.1  96.2
         
20224January16,4569,0667,390..........
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. January 2022 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
.. Indices not yet available.
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
July13,6038,3145,289 193.6  213.5
August14,1048,7975,307 194.6  224.9
September14,3378,5445,793 197.1  216.6
October15,0238,8936,130 200.5  223.4
November14,7439,4105,332 199.8  228.6
December13,3289,6553,674 192.6  236.8
      
2022January15,50010,2275,273....
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.
.. Indices not yet available.
Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity1
€million
SITC (Rev 4)ExportsImports
JanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuary
2021202220212022
0Food and live animals714902438705
 00Live animals other than animals of Division 0315221011
 01Meat and meat preparations2563174770
 02Dairy products and birds' eggs1282095795
 03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof48461621
 04Cereals and cereal preparations424868130
 05Vegetables and fruit243082103
 06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey891931
 07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof37293351
 08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)403967140
 09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1171533753
1Beverages and tobacco1021674963
 11Beverages 1021664659
 12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0034
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1311556985
 21Hides, skins and furskins, raw5700
 22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 3312
 23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 3411
 24Cork and wood17212020
 25Pulp and waste paper7714
 26Textile fibres and their wastes10311
 27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)119917
 28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap66912020
 29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes10111519
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials82152360883
 32Coal, coke and briquettes1061052
 33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials64116279365
 34Gas, natural and manufactured1263448
 35Electric current829919
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes791932
 41Animal oils and fats7713
 42Fixed vegetable fats and oils111528
 43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0021
5Chemicals and related products9,45710,9981,8142,269
 51Organic chemicals2,4132,605889977
 52Inorganic chemicals18252329
 53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials10101722
 54Medical and pharmaceutical products5,9447,217556700
 55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations62372188110
 56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)1136109
 57Plastics in primary forms30276899
 58Plastics in non-primary forms148605184
 59Chemical materials and products nes27033286138
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material178245392715
 61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins2233
 62Rubber manufactures nes14323243
 63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)26372136
 64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof12165597
 65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products1294159
 66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes33504381
 67Iron and steel121762116
 68Non-ferrous metals101537131
 69Manufactures of metals nes576899149
7Machinery and transport equipment1,4452,0172,4253,020
 71Power generating machinery and equipment12483103169
 72Machinery specialised for particular industries4450117162
 73Metalworking machinery22612
 74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes111132161199
 75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)349428345423
 76Telecommunications and sound equipment6180156223
 77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts6961,108237701
 78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)1837364394
 79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)3994937738
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,1701,6117181,024
 81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings11102439
 82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc14164577
 83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers22914
 84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories1119157202
 85Footwear223137
 87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes499710141184
 88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1141353248
 89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes519716279422
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere5221116
Unclassified estimates238178146254
       
Total13,32916,4566,4419,066
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. January 2022 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
2 Estimates for which a commodity classification is not available.
Table 4 Goods Exports and Imports classified by country1
€million
CountryExportsImports
JanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuary
2021202220212022
Austria25331924
Belgium1,2921,652134144
Bulgaria91233
Croatia6412
Cyprus21011
Czech Republic38368670
Denmark42394661
Estonia1222
Finland20191318
France365870612661
Germany1,0911,928488572
Greece1283959
Hungary 28452233
Italy 423319149200
Latvia6784
Lithuania97712
Luxembourg5554
Malta4312
Netherlands555747277281
Poland1031865986
Portugal31392426
Romania36281110
Slovakia121046
Slovenia142233
Spain166215116161
Sweden67696554
EU Country not specified22615361121
Total EU2734,5066,5002,2212,570
Euro-Zone44,1515,9281,8672,129
     
Great Britain9481,4067381,797
Northern Ireland215322221300
Total UK1,1631,7289592,097
     
Australia607266
Brazil19181722
Canada1051174464
China5875967478945
India25444780
Japan259294101208
Malaysia14202336
Mexico3411322446
Norway17283637
Russia326259129
Saudi Arabia574611
Singapore32642213
South Africa18331418
South Korea626499153
Switzerland376305675431
Taiwan26495784
Thailand11162340
Turkey555587150
USA4,9325,3811,2351,210
Other countries323453211688
Country unknown6229136
Total Non-EU (excl UK)7,6608,2283,2604,399
     
Total13,32916,4566,4419,066
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. January 2022 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.
Table 5 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity and principal countries1
€million
  ExportsImports
Country by Section level of SITCJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuary
2021202220212022
Great Britain9481,4067381,797
0Food and live animals19125678155
1Beverages and tobacco1014614
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels283969
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials3298184600
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes1114
5Chemicals and related products438584102422
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material608297166
7Machinery and transport equipment102211146271
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles85120117152
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere1114
Northern Ireland215322221300
0Food and live animals7911171107
1Beverages and tobacco381314
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1010710
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials9241530
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes1134
5Chemicals and related products41591430
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material30433241
7Machinery and transport equipment18301917
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles17251515
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere7113431
EU 2724,5066,5002,2212,570
0Food and live animals212262212230
1Beverages and tobacco22382022
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels65572327
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials2736054
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes451217
5Chemicals and related products3,2924,915508654
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material6066129171
7Machinery and transport equipment411520966962
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles381464178217
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere33170115215
USA4,9325,3811,2351,210
0Food and live animals28311438
1Beverages and tobacco488012
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1247
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials005448
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes-000
5Chemicals and related products4,2074,357319364
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material12313238
7Machinery and transport equipment213306680526
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles420573125185
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere2262
China3875967479945
0Food and live animals4743310
1Beverages and tobacco0100
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels4637
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials--00
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0000
5Chemicals and related products20110371151
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1247102
7Machinery and transport equipment532700232438
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles88112122226
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere00011
Rest of World1,8531,8801,5472,244
0Food and live animals15619960166
1Beverages and tobacco1827910
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels23422526
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials162748150
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0137
5Chemicals and related products1,277981801649
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material142155197
7Machinery and transport equipment169250383805
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles179317161228
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere11516
     
Total13,32916,4566,4419,066
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. January 2022 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.
Table 6 Goods Exports by industrial origin and area of destination
€million
Industrial origin and areaExports
JanuaryJanuary
20212022
Agricultural produce487652
Great Britain and Northern Ireland175268
EU1180221
USA2725
Rest of World104138
   
Forestry and fishing produce6668
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2025
EU12732
USA00
Rest of World1912
   
Industrial produce12,71415,552
Great Britain and Northern Ireland9381,420
EU14,2686,080
USA4,9045,355
Rest of World2,6032,696
   
Unclassified exports63184
   
Total13,32916,456
1EU excluding Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Table 7 Goods Imports by main use and area of origin
€million
Main use and area of originImports
JanuaryJanuary
20212022
Producers capital goods ready for use1,4051,349
Great Britain and Northern Ireland65113
EU1656661
USA490276
Rest of World193299
   
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco349509
Great Britain and Northern Ireland130239
EU1172200
USA46
Rest of World4464
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,1741,693
Great Britain and Northern Ireland226508
EU1354410
USA221135
Rest of World373641
   
Materials for further production - agriculture178322
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3841
EU177107
USA2339
Rest of World40136
Materials for further production - other3,1834,932
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4671,164
EU1848980
USA495753
Rest of World1,3742,034
   
Unclassified imports151261
   
Total6,4419,066
1EU excluding Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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 (December 2021 in this publication) and -6 (July 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 January 2022 was 68%, covering an estimated 83% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for January 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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