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For more information on this release:
E-mail: Trade@cso.ie Damian Malone (+353) 1 498 4206 Bernie Ryan (+353) 1 498 4235
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5155
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Goods Exports and Imports

June 2019

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
January 201913,7406,7037,037
February 201913,1837,2675,916
March 201910,9856,9814,004
April 201912,6207,2825,338
May 201913,4547,1946,259
June 201911,5327,3054,226

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increase in June

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

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €111 million (+2%) to €7,305 million in June 2019 compared with May 2019, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €1,922 million (-14%) to €11,532 million leading to a decrease of €2,033 million (-33%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,226 million in June 2019 compared with the previous month (see Table 2).

Increase in exports of Electrical machinery

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for June 2019 was €12,104 million representing a decrease of €663 million (-5%) when compared with June 2018. The value of goods exports for the period January to June 2019 was €76,547 million, an increase of €7,123 million (+10%) when compared with the first six months of 2018.

The biggest rate of change in exports was Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, which increased by €256 million (+59%) to €687 million in June 2019 compared with June 2018.

Organic chemicals increased by €88 million (+3%) to €2,741 million. This represents 23% of the value of total exports.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products decreased by €122 million (-3%) to €3,696 million. Other transport equipment, including aircraft decreased by €486 million (-82%) to €108 million over the same comparative period.

The value of goods exports for June 2019 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €11,995 million, a decrease of €177 million (-2%) when compared with the corresponding June 2018 figure of €12,172 million.

Imports decrease significantly in June

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for June 2019 was €7,451 million representing a decrease of €902 million (-11%) when compared with June 2018. The value of goods imports for January to June 2019 was €42,728 million, which is an increase of €760 million (+2%) compared with January to June 2018.

Imports of Medical and pharmaceutical products decreased by €676 million (-54%) to €576 million in June 2019 compared with June 2018.

Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft decreased by €87 million (-4%) to €2,165 million.

Imports of Office machines and automatic data processing machines increased by €39 million (+11%) to €398 million.

The value of goods imports for June 2019 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €5,286 million, a decrease of €815 million (-13%) when compared with the corresponding June 2018 figure of €6,101 million.

Exports to Great Britain decrease in June

Exports to Great Britain decreased by €72 million (-6%) to €1,140 million in June 2019 compared with June 2018. The main increases were in the exports of Chemicals and related products and Machinery and transport equipment, with a fall in the exports of Food and live animals. Exports to Great Britain accounted for 9% of total exports.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first six months of 2019 was €7,255 million, an increase of €462 million (+7%) on the first six months of 2018.

Imports from Great Britain decreased by €26 million (-2%) to €1,446 million in June 2019 compared with June 2018.  The main decrease was in the imports of Chemicals and related products (see Table 5). Imports from Great Britain were 19% of the value of total imports in June 2019.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for the period January to June 2019 was €9,700 million, an increase of €875 million (+10%) on the first six months of 2018.

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €5,925 million (49%) of total goods exports in June 2019 of which €1,272 million went to Belgium and €1,088 million was exported to Germany. Total EU exports in June decreased by €552 million (-9%) compared with June 2018.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €3,493 million (29%) of total exports in June 2019.

The EU accounted for €4,496 million (60%) of total goods imports in June 2019, which is a decrease of €707 million (-14%) compared with June 2018.

The USA with €1,066 million (14%) and China with €356 million (5%) were the main non-EU sources of imports.

*It should be noted that the detailed data described in Paragraph 3 onwards, and the data in Tables 1, 3, 4 and 5 are not seasonally adjusted.  Only the data described in the first two paragraphs and in Table 2 are seasonally adjusted.

This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
Table 1 Goods Exports and Imports summary analysis
PeriodValue1Volume index2Unit value index2 
ExportsImportsTrade surplusBase year 2010=100
€m€m€mExportsImportsExportsImportsTerms of trade3
2010 90,92448,69542,229 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0
201193,19153,03540,155 106.1  110.4  96.6  98.7  97.9
2012 93,50756,17937,328 100.6  120.2  102.2  96.0  106.5
201389,18255,78733,394 101.1  123.5  97.0  92.8  104.6
201492,61662,15830,458 103.8  130.1  98.2  98.1  100.1
2015112,40770,11142,296 115.5  143.6  106.8  100.3  106.5
2016119,29274,23745,055 125.6  158.2  102.7  93.3  110.2
2017122,78582,95639,829 135.8  168.9  99.3  96.1  103.3
2018140,70692,04248,664 156.2  189.2  99.1  99.5  99.6
         
2016Quarter 127,81317,62310,190 119.5  158.0  100.7  89.4  112.6
 Quarter 230,30718,94411,363 129.0  159.5  102.0  94.8  107.6
 Quarter 330,36118,13112,229 126.5  152.5  103.6  94.2  110.1
 Quarter 430,81219,53811,273 127.6  162.8  104.6  94.7  110.5
2017Quarter 132,17920,98511,194 137.0  160.2  103.3  98.4  104.9
 Quarter 231,07721,7459,331 134.2  182.1  101.9  95.6  106.7
 Quarter 328,98318,55010,433 129.1  152.0  98.1  94.9  103.4
 Quarter 430,54621,6768,871 141.0  176.8  93.8  95.4  98.2
2018Quarter 133,84520,08813,757 159.0  175.2  93.7  94.2  99.5
 Quarter 235,57921,88013,699 168.6  187.6  92.7  96.0  96.8
 Quarter 334,16423,21410,950 148.2  181.9  101.4  104.0  97.6
 Quarter 437,11926,86010,258 163.2  218.7  100.2  100.3  99.9
2019Quarter 137,97020,77417,196 166.4  180.7  100.6  94.0  107.1
 Quarter 238,57821,95416,623 174.5  193.2  97.3  93.3  104.3
         
2016January8,8935,1433,750 120.9  142.6  95.6  87.0  110.0
 February8,5665,4813,085 105.0  144.4  106.0  91.6  115.8
 March10,3546,9993,355 132.6  187.0  100.6  89.7  112.1
 April10,0535,5934,460 125.8  144.6  104.1  93.4  111.5
 May9,3856,4122,973 123.6  164.7  99.0  94.2  105.0
 June10,8686,9383,930 137.7  169.3  102.8  96.7  106.4
 July9,4115,7383,672 120.4  144.2  101.9  96.2  106.0
 August10,4645,7234,742 130.8  146.1  103.4  93.1  111.1
 September10,4866,6703,815 128.2  167.1  105.6  93.4  113.1
 October10,1995,7104,489 129.3  142.6  103.1  95.9  107.5
 November11,2017,2473,954 140.6  183.9  104.1  94.4  110.3
 December9,4126,5812,831 113.0  162.0  106.6  93.7  113.8
      
2017January9,9077,1982,708 122.8  144.7  106.4  98.9  107.6
 February10,2356,5343,702 135.1  158.7  99.6  98.3  101.3
March12,0377,2534,784 153.0  177.2  103.9  98.1  105.8
April9,8636,8523,011 122.6  167.2  106.2  98.0  108.4
May10,5617,6202,941 139.3  193.4  100.0  94.7  105.7
June10,6537,2743,379 140.6  185.6  99.6  94.0  106.0
July9,1785,6863,492 117.4  140.2  103.2  95.1  108.5
August9,6176,3293,288 126.1  153.9  98.2  93.6  104.9
September10,1886,5343,654 143.8  161.8  93.0  96.1  96.8
October9,6457,0362,609 143.2  180.8  88.3  92.5  95.5
November10,8497,4243,425 151.6  187.0  95.0  96.0  98.9
December10,0537,2162,837 128.3  162.7  98.0  97.7  100.3
        
20184January12,1036,5385,565 159.6  168.8  100.1  95.4  104.9
 February10,4026,4233,980 138.1  163.8  99.4  96.7  102.8
 March11,3407,1284,212 159.1  183.9  94.1  95.5  98.5
 April11,0026,6034,399 155.4  160.9  93.4  101.1  92.4
 May11,8116,9244,886 160.1  182.1  97.4  93.7  103.9
 June12,7668,3524,414 168.9  209.9  99.7  98.1  101.7
 July11,0757,7183,356 144.6  179.8  101.1  105.8  95.6
 August11,5387,2464,293 152.9  176.4  99.6  100.9  98.7
 September11,5518,2503,301 147.1  189.4  103.6  105.2  98.4
 October12,2518,9933,258 164.1  216.5  98.6  100.8  97.8
 November13,0018,8824,119 173.5  219.8  98.9  99.6  99.3
 December11,8678,9862,881 152.1  219.9  103.2  100.6  102.5
      
20194January13,6166,7736,842 174.8  183.4  102.8  91.0  113.0
 February12,5796,6705,909 176.0  175.9  94.4  93.4  101.0
 March11,7757,3304,444 148.3  182.8  104.7  97.6  107.3
 April12,6837,1855,497 166.0  192.9  100.8  91.8  109.8
 May13,7917,3186,473 188.5  192.3  96.6  93.8  103.0
June12,1047,4514,653 169.0  194.5  94.5  94.4  100.1
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. June 2019 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
Table 2 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted1 series
PeriodValueVolume index
ExportsImportsTrade surplusBase year 2010=100
€m€m€mExportsImports
2016Quarter 127,86616,68211,184 119.7  149.6
 Quarter 229,75919,10110,659 126.5  161.3
 Quarter 330,22119,06911,152 125.7  161.2
 Quarter 431,01019,29411,716 129.0  159.6
2017Quarter 132,98320,42812,555 137.6  154.3
 Quarter 230,27022,0488,222 131.1  186.1
 Quarter 329,33219,4989,835 131.4  162.1
 Quarter 430,54421,2149,329 142.2  170.7
2018Quarter 133,99220,31313,679 157.4  173.2
 Quarter 234,72121,77212,949 165.5  187.3
 Quarter 335,04224,51010,531 152.9  195.3
 Quarter 437,24425,58611,658 164.2  208.8
2019Quarter 137,90820,95216,957 166.3  182.1
 Quarter 237,60621,78215,824 169.5  190.9
      
2016January9,4495,0914,358 127.0  145.3
 February8,9445,5283,417 108.7  143.8
 March9,4736,0643,409 123.3  159.6
 April9,8755,7214,154 125.3  148.7
 May9,6436,5123,132 124.8  167.8
 June10,2416,8683,373 129.4  167.4
 July9,2026,1963,006 118.3  156.8
 August 10,6985,9874,711 132.1  155.2
 September10,3216,8863,435 126.7  171.6
 October10,3565,8014,555 130.1  144.4
 November10,4206,8593,562 130.0  171.3
 December10,2346,6343,600 127.0  163.1
       
2017January10,7777,0463,731 129.5  140.8
 February11,1627,0234,138 141.8  168.3
 March11,0446,3594,685 141.4  153.9
 April9,8607,4052,454 124.0  181.5
 May10,5597,4563,104 136.6  192.1
 June9,8527,1882,664 132.7  184.7
 July9,7296,0493,680 124.5  151.1
 August9,6906,6643,026 126.4  163.3
 September9,9146,7863,129 143.3  172.0
 October9,8396,7783,061 141.9  172.4
 November9,9626,9792,982 140.5  172.9
 December10,7437,4573,286 144.3  166.7
       
2018January12,5156,9335,582 162.2  172.9
 February11,0166,9934,022 143.5  175.7
 March10,4626,3874,075 146.4  162.0
 April11,1516,8864,265 161.2  170.4
 May11,7726,5705,202 157.2  176.3
 June11,7988,3163,482 157.3  205.3
 July11,9038,0063,897 157.3  188.8
 August11,4317,8353,596 152.1  195.3
 September11,7078,6693,038 149.3  201.9
 October12,2458,3813,864 157.7  199.2
 November12,1148,1463,968 163.4  203.8
 December12,8859,0583,826 171.5  223.4
       
2019January13,7406,7037,037 176.3  188.4
 February13,1837,2675,916 185.4  185.9
 March10,9856,9814,004 137.2  172.1
 April12,6207,2825,338 165.4  196.4
 May13,4547,1946,259 182.1  186.7
June11,5327,3054,226 161.1  189.5
1 Based on seasonal patterns up to December 2018. Accordingly all values in this table may have been revised.
Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity1
€million
SITC (Rev 4)ExportsImports
JunJunJan-JunJan-JunJunJunJan-JunJan-Jun
20182019201820192018201920182019
0Food and live animals1,0271,0115,4875,6886236013,7103,797
00Live animals other than animals of Division 03342914314112156267
01Meat and meat preparations3433411,9231,9198583503494
02Dairy products and birds' eggs3043001,2651,4038467439438
03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof47443053212524142147
04Cereals and cereal preparations33402022649994578657
05Vegetables and fruit2824174152120114659668
06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey141075682826183185
07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof29301841954244282312
08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)29301691826675473441
09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1671641,0471,0436158389387
1Beverages and tobacco981015997208075388440
11Beverages 981015997207673375416
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0010421324
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1751279828917983467536
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw9554400000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 1159221515
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 00011156
24Cork and wood15158796161885109
25Pulp and waste paper543126472535
26Textile fibres and their wastes101166671168
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)1213717113157896
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap111695975182222125130
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes11970632017127137
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials200875609274964092,8053,208
32Coal, coke and briquettes77626510511428
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials16863923023952692,1202,040
34Gas, natural and manufactured211037656495562
35Electric current237396557158076579
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes5737352219132134
41Animal oils and fats4631292288
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils11551816114116
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0011221111
5Chemicals and related products7,7467,58743,27647,5372,0691,34210,2098,183
51Organic chemicals2,6532,74113,46316,7553963861,7131,963
52Inorganic chemicals13201071072020160160
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials121070672219124127
54Medical and pharmaceutical products3,8193,69623,21623,9511,2525765,9313,573
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations7876843,9514,08612298671664
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)11773734274305
57Plastics in primary forms39432242358475505488
58Plastics in non-primary forms40462502556060335391
59Chemical materials and products nes3833451,9882,0737775496510
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2011841,1791,1574414792,6573,019
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins2313131299
62Rubber manufactures nes7847482929168187
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)26241611522528143160
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof131176837591443542
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products121383794444253273
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes41392352304953282313
67Iron and steel161794956571417468
68Non-ferrous metals121262694646301309
69Manufactures of metals nes7157407388106115641757
7Machinery and transport equipment1,8651,5879,09010,9863,6553,59116,42317,990
71Power generating machinery and equipment67574544077497448579
72Machinery specialised for particular industries6254404369143142850881
73Metalworking machinery22141311136968
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1851639531,024160148884941
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)3673582,1342,4153603981,8202,586
76Telecommunications and sound equipment123130604738136133871886
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts4316872,4363,6032202091,3371,436
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)34291781693012872,0262,011
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)5941081,9142,2492,2522,1658,1178,602
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,3261,3157,7308,0496966924,0154,371
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings121076642125137153
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc161595994845264287
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers23111513147076
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories152597111140146838913
85Footwear3319183438198218
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5445623,0433,462159138909927
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1101086837003529197213
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes6245893,7083,5792462561,4041,584
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere71321811904023236192
Unclassified estimates25265302368152136925858
           
Total12,76612,10469,42476,5478,3527,45041,96842,728
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. June 2019 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
JunJunJan-JunJan-JunJunJunJan-JunJan-Jun
20182019201820192018201920182019
Austria48382351922929168172
Belgium1,5551,2728,8508,916149135840824
Bulgaria9115066331517
Croatia65243211510
Cyprus111329002026
Czech Republic50302863194657299329
Denmark49583583374439265262
Estonia12111011108
Finland232416714811157291
France5564022,7882,7591,3881,4454,6535,471
Germany1,0311,0885,0816,5551,2255025,4463,913
Great Britain1,2121,1406,7937,2551,4721,4468,8259,700
Greece4594212348762938
Hungary 3327172157703016692
Italy 2632611,6691,86097102909665
Latvia663232332225
Lithuania221717795867
Luxembourg13137499683428
Malta34106490147
Netherlands8168183,7724,3242392471,5271,602
Northern Ireland1691539741,051130124737758
Poland98805165685658296408
Portugal39392222351622106123
Romania3430178194794156
Slovakia874152442527
Slovenia3143864241418
Spain2862081,3131,178123120803729
Sweden85714594685956403360
EU country not specified2322585260723224642
Total EU6,4775,92534,53237,5735,2034,49626,01826,467
  of which United Kingdom1,3801,2937,7668,3061,6021,5709,56210,458
Euro-Zone34,7014,29424,63926,8673,3092,65114,74213,833
        
Australia7461425367655249
Brazil221415614818149792
Canada1601577166934149290334
China44756842,4734,1313573562,2762,454
India30291682104046318341
Japan2742591,6421,36413892714600
Malaysia14201001042835175303
Mexico1321287177483128174185
Norway26131981146626414297
Russia69472743413327263265
Saudi Arabia56742973561143
Singapore53433392667735244169
South Africa162713817612135560
South Korea60753143046190330448
Switzerland6995893,8243,44871208297707
Taiwan22331841712435144207
Thailand13873563232192211
Turkey66373533955154278354
USA3,3023,49319,48222,2051,4621,0667,3216,128
Other countries3483742,0612,2592101891,1951,168
Country unknown5378129591,1193895531,1161,885
Total Non-EU6,2906,17934,89238,9743,1492,95415,95016,261
         
Total12,76612,10469,42476,5478,3527,45041,96842,728
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. June 2019 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 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.
4 China includes Hong Kong and Macao.
5 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 SITCJunJunJan-JunJan-JunJunJunJan-JunJan-Jun
20182019201820192018201920182019
Great Britain1,2121,1406,7937,2551,4721,4468,8259,700
0Food and live animals3603201,9401,9072532481,5041,541
1Beverages and tobacco1818941092930131159
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels37312262062017105117
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials95692026492452351,4911,761
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes22108332220
5Chemicals and related products2933042,0502,0702261801,3581,345
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material90755084791611889631,120
7Machinery and transport equipment1861961,0111,0482593001,6382,083
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles102955926031841841,0581,114
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere28281601759360555441
Other EU25,2654,78527,74030,3183,7313,05017,19216,767
0Food and live animals4474352,2052,3072692441,5851,580
1Beverages and tobacco29321822143934185206
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels98625264522531156195
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials19171401126889503553
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes44262214118485
5Chemicals and related products3,3873,20117,95220,3341,1824775,5743,083
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material83764824751621629581,054
7Machinery and transport equipment6734263,2093,2231,7471,7716,7928,589
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4884862,8032,927151155897957
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere38452142527577460465
USA3,3023,49319,48222,2051,4621,0667,3216,128
0Food and live animals26381341821920118120
1Beverages and tobacco39352443062188
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels232015442335
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials30077137676892490
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes--000011
5Chemicals and related products2,4222,64514,36716,4813032881,7531,516
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material141382893335205212
7Machinery and transport equipment2682511,6891,8389165504,4603,035
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4945042,8433,13210692594652
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere6425251186862
China34756842,4734,1313573562,2762,454
0Food and live animals5677374437442027
1Beverages and tobacco00120000
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels442622222118
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials2905010000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00020000
5Chemicals and related products185797759432119170188
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material3226133743226261
7Machinery and transport equipment1564809192,4451851721,1821,268
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4242302266103110623658
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere0000553433
Rest of World2,5122,00112,93712,6381,3311,5326,3547,678
0Food and live animals1381408348547885483529
1Beverages and tobacco1215778910106468
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels34281831962829162171
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials260902911716719404
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0012552628
5Chemicals and related products1,4601,3588,1337,7093373781,3552,052
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1117811024852305373
7Machinery and transport equipment5812342,2632,4325487982,3503,014
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1991881,1901,121152152843990
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere512085105894549
         
Total12,76612,10469,42476,5478,3527,45041,96842,728
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. June 2019 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.

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 (May 2019 in this publication), -4 (February 2019) and -8 (October 2018) 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 June 2019 was 68%, covering an estimated 90% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for June 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

Monthly exports, imports, trade surplus and the volume series for exports and imports have been seasonally adjusted using the US Bureau of the Census X-11 Variant of the Census Method 11 Seasonal Adjustment Program. In the main, monthly projections are based on series recalculated at the end of the previous year.

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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