Back to Top

 Skip navigation

Extra information
Methodology Previous Releases
International comparison:
Eurostat
See also:
YouTube Video
For more information on this release:
E-mail: Trade@cso.ie Orla.McCarthy@cso.ie Ciarán.Counihan@cso.ie
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

October 2021

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
September 202114,2398,4215,818
October 202114,8728,6496,224
% change4.42.77.0
Value change633227406

Seasonally adjusted goods trade exports increased by over €600 million in October

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

Seasonally adjusted goods exports increased by €633 million (+4%) to €14,872 million in October 2021 compared with September 2021, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €227 million (+3%) to €8,649 million leading to an increase of €406 million (+7%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €6,224 million in October 2021 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 over €2.5 billion in October 2021 compared with October 2020

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for October 2021 was €14,774 million representing an increase of €2,544 million (+21%) when compared with October 2020. The value of goods exports for the period January to October 2021 was €136,248 million, an increase of €1,385 million (+1%) when compared with the first ten months of 2020.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €2,266 million (+55%) to €6,368 million in October 2021 compared with October 2020. This represented 43% of total exports.

Exports of Electrical machinery, appliances and parts increased by €220 million (+26%) to €1,053 million.

Exports of Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus increased by €112 million (+21%) to €637 million.

Exports of Organic chemicals decreased by €192 million (-8%) to €2,158 million over the same comparative period (see Table 3).

Imports increased by €1.1 billion in October 2021 compared with October 2020

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for October 2021 was €8,807 million representing an increase of €1,148 million (+15%) when compared with October 2020. The value of goods imports for January to October of 2021 was €81,371 million, which is an increase of €12,651 million (+18%) compared with January to October 2020.

Imports of Electrical machinery, appliances and parts increased by €263 million (+71%) to €631 million in October 2021 compared with October 2020.

Imports of Petroleum increased by €170 million (+83%) to €374 million.

Imports of Organic chemicals increased by €252 million (+35%) to €977 million over the same comparative period.

The value of goods imports for October 2021 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €7,810 million, an increase of €1,275 million (+20%) when compared with the corresponding October 2020 figure of €6,535 million (see Table 3). 

Exports to Great Britain increased slightly in October 2021 over October 2020

Exports to Great Britain in October 2021 were €1,054 million, an increase of €37 million (+4%) compared with October 2020. The main changes were increases in the exports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and Machinery and equipment, with a decrease in the exports of Chemicals and related products (see Table 5). Exports to Great Britain accounted for 7% of total exports in October 2021.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first ten months of 2021 was €11,661 million, an increase of €2,016 million (+21%) on the first ten months of 2020.

Imports from Great Britain decreased by €519 million (-26%) to €1,482 million compared with October 2020. The main decreases were in the imports of Chemicals and related products, Food and live animals and Machinery and equipment with an increase in the imports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (see Table 5). Imports from Great Britain were 17% of the value of total imports in October 2021.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for January to October 2021 was €10,928 million, a decrease of €2,944 million (-21%) compared with January to October 2020.

Imports from Northern Ireland of almost €3.3 billion in the first ten months of 2021

Imports from Northern Ireland in the first ten months of 2021 increased by €1,263 million (+63%) to €3,279 million when compared with January to October 2020.

Exports to Northern Ireland were €2,919 million in the period January to October 2021, an increase of €922 million (+46%) on the same period in 2020 (see Table 5). 

%
NI2.10372882934076
GB7.13347156364662
EU2734.3942577659445
US38.3020827842799
Rest of World18.664590567882
%
NI4.79683937408922
GB16.821638425798
EU2729.4921831204904
US18.0526142882241
Rest of
World
30.8367247913983

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €5,081 million (34%) of total goods exports in October 2021 of which €1,547 million went to Belgium and €1,270 million went to Germany. Total EU exports in October 2021 increased by €263 million (+5%) compared with October 2020.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €5,659 million (38%) of total exports in October 2021.

The EU accounted for €2,597 million (29%) of total goods imports in October 2021, which is an increase of €225 million (+9%) compared with October 2020.

The UK with €1,904 million (22%), the USA with €1,590 million (18%), and China with €772 million (9%) were the main non-EU sources of imports (see Table 4).

X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
May 20204.950205926940482.4980030121.110960033906264.316218245
Jun 20206.185803676232092.8813292671.062124137683483.517776193
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 20214.506236241177442.727520752999991.167737820082784.932282209
Feb 20214.642070998198852.3432532221.093844647384824.252122179
Mar 20215.719336973387962.8986719311.551990914174144.542633046
Apr 20214.879179425403172.421999427000011.338743474531743.534343537
May 20215.413352505930262.6901096661.501455221924273.901386861
Jun 20215.580403313017433.1141768561.762390331460614.281277453
Jul 20214.472811628298442.9915530711.77618937948823.624232916
Aug 20214.831367918579862.785792811.293792145218154.186750605
Sep 20215.84611269813112.7936636961.728775181154254.346289045
Oct 20215.081305760460612.6690851451.364676623837215.658636253
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
May 20201.72104365736672.019694053733931.37182910113141.04039462204223
Jun 20202.442595096921911.80805650133811.492994710038781.006066601742
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 20212.221107428981842.146221630934030.8903975935955311.18383990910489
Feb 20212.22163599107962.187923823122181.010200746878811.23044461520128
Mar 20213.214899634982572.968686367631561.452106436233711.4837461714105
Apr 20212.786561155252162.948024361105171.270094109262361.1191577260469
May 20213.38848990211542.590100152895071.329316239762761.34478436970838
Jun 20213.659692046624093.419879098049271.518679018763521.24870491813201
Jul 20212.679443947796622.200400666706911.468350779332351.33041468650019
Aug 20212.186694972073482.427325311484851.604414615794291.45842977330308
Sep 20212.482049357773062.499785237044431.758954641486511.63227354790282
Oct 20212.597481015349082.715899562062311.904015902672821.58995767453047

Exports by industrial origin and Imports by main use

Industrial produce accounted for €13,813 million (93%) of total exports in October 2021. This is an increase of €2,430 million (+21%) when compared with October 2020. There was €5,611 million of this exported to the USA, €4,707 million to the EU and €990 million to the UK. Agricultural produce accounted for €839 million (6%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €1,578 million (18%) of total imports in October 2021, a decrease of €32 million (-2%) when compared with October 2020.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €2,277 million (26%) of total imports, and Materials for further production accounted for €4,826 million (55%) (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. 

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
         
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
          
20214January13,3346,4426,892 206.8  175.8  85.1  88.6  96.1
 February12,3316,6505,681 178.7  181.8  91.1  90.1  101.1
 March14,7139,1195,593 232.0  234.1  83.7  95.7  87.5
 April12,1748,1244,050 191.0  216.3  85.9  92.5  92.9
 May13,5068,6534,854 199.9  229.0  88.9  90.0  98.8
 June14,7389,8474,891 223.2  253.5  87.1  95.7  91.1
 July12,8657,6795,186 184.6  205.0  92.0  93.7  98.1
 August13,0987,6775,421 185.6  187.5  93.1  94.6  98.5
 September14,7158,3736,342 199.7  209.0  97.2  98.7  98.5
 October14,7748,8075,966..........
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. October 2021 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
 March13,4628,1815,281 205.8  211.0
 April12,5898,3334,256 190.5  224.9
 May13,6468,8874,759 202.2  232.0
 June13,9559,1924,763 208.3  228.4
 July13,2877,9515,336 193.2  210.6
 August14,1188,6725,446 199.4  214.2
 September14,2398,4215,818 197.2  209.7
 October14,8728,6496,224....
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
OctOctJan-OctJan-OctOctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
20202021202020212020202120202021
0Food and live animals9661,0699,6039,7966516296,4125,840
00Live animals other than animals of Division 0329712674232556284172
01Meat and meat preparations3333483,1103,2347773740701
02Dairy products and birds' eggs2492882,5002,6156872765636
03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof34494464952417236211
04Cereals and cereal preparations4945450463107110979974
05Vegetables and fruit2832273331112941,1131,002
06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey10101051023632332287
07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof37363593516560532479
08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)34393233687765787866
09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1631531,7691,4155950643512
1Beverages and tobacco1531591,1791,41010385884813
11Beverages 1531591,1781,40910083820751
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0001326462
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1111951,1521,6458592793846
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw6646570000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 1078222019
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 01217111810
24Cork and wood17241492352226153219
25Pulp and waste paper473271824929
26Textile fibres and their wastes101391117111011
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)107981011519139150
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap531156318782022190177
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes1011961061718225231
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials40615848162916962,8094,622
32Coal, coke and briquettes1079312353552161
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials24374386212033742,1683,077
34Gas, natural and manufactured01918722505321,099
35Electric current6174354113757285
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes61069932330248285
41Animal oils and fats595979221617
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils1210131925207245
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0010222523
5Chemicals and related products7,5209,59288,63685,3292,0092,39917,51820,922
51Organic chemicals2,3502,15827,03021,8417249776,6988,348
52Inorganic chemicals30342812672439272297
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials1212941132426217237
54Medical and pharmaceutical products4,1026,36850,96851,8748479076,6627,799
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations6416026,5986,9101381511,0901,165
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)00871528349393
57Plastics in primary forms31223282727891737905
58Plastics in non-primary forms47654477376473608744
59Chemical materials and products nes3063302,8833,306951078851,034
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2292541,9222,3015426194,7675,585
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins452834231622
62Rubber manufactures nes1426931953744295374
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)27442203453439263323
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof18181471628490791766
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products15131321376655625514
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes47493784816679525656
67Iron and steel131813316773120640882
68Non-ferrous metals711761094847431645
69Manufactures of metals nes84697156711331431,1821,402
7Machinery and transport equipment1,7111,84318,78719,9592,7773,05025,21131,369
71Power generating machinery and equipment651057611,503932041,2921,802
72Machinery specialised for particular industries60536046091331401,3521,424
73Metalworking machinery22233681099116
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1431411,3611,4731892051,6711,983
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)3992913,9513,2194513924,1833,972
76Telecommunications and sound equipment80779978311852091,6481,847
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts8331,0537,8369,6433686312,7696,576
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)33332833312252632,3693,112
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)94882,9702,3141,1259979,82710,538
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,4301,50712,21814,3631,0131,0778,3219,684
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings14131021152844213324
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc18131591285470449605
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers332725111499118
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories25211792072112121,7822,025
85Footwear3324255140346403
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5266374,8445,8751841911,8751,836
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1261311,1151,3334452439453
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes7166875,7686,6534294553,1173,921
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere7411281542510233118
Unclassified estimates258445843811411211,5241,289
           
Total12,23014,774134,862136,2487,6608,80768,71981,371
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. October 2021 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
OctOctJan-OctJan-OctOctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
20202021202020212020202120202021
Austria32282932942318239254
Belgium8171,54714,92411,0731661521,6591,689
Bulgaria129112104363333
Croatia484162131516
Cyprus2822320035
Czech Republic42303695077366578790
Denmark48434954596357480516
Estonia121262121016
Finland18222182622111129408
France4094494,4914,3667178476,8148,156
Germany1,4661,27014,65014,9235235225,7875,736
Greece199191,4581,025595585
Hungary 18212122661216232220
Italy 3443093,9103,8251701601,4201,691
Latvia1386575353953
Lithuania755984878699
Luxembourg677967343440
Malta343467111810
Netherlands8817897,0477,7852353252,6253,698
Poland112919501,1187575690695
Portugal26292913011818224242
Romania33673114461358487
Slovakia131293111544477
Slovenia1215123144332638
Spain2081972,0981,8921291721,4441,421
Sweden58586616975449391635
EU Country not specified236351653224659416725
Total EU2734,8185,08153,18550,9722,3732,59723,56327,438
Euro-Zone44,4564,71849,86846,9932,0322,26120,64423,720
         
Great Britain1,0171,0549,64511,6612,0001,48213,87210,928
Northern Ireland2043111,9972,9192554222,0163,279
Total UK1,2211,36511,64214,5802,2551,90415,88814,207
         
Australia6347742697141110083
Brazil23202432632324175275
Canada1351331,5771,0533122371517
China59359869,2109,6116037725,3066,451
India37462874405178437680
Japan2012212,9612,310911331,1031,100
Malaysia291919019333593941,734
Mexico1071431,3941,7343540327356
Norway30342427322673421717
Russia30753644711877252414
Saudi Arabia60515265620285754
Singapore3853448394722370441
South Africa222925032491189127
South Korea51725445501041198001,110
Switzerland4462252,8002,5133984683,8384,080
Taiwan29254112868179460660
Thailand16131151663441326435
Turkey53645725935479496834
USA3,5655,65942,28043,2601,1291,59010,89413,622
Other countries3224024,6454,4072295392,1274,309
Country unknown621023313862419271,727
Total Non-EU (excl UK)6,1918,32870,03570,6963,0324,30629,26939,726
         
Total12,23014,774134,862136,2487,6608,80768,71981,371
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. October 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.
Table 5 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity and principal countries1
€million
  ExportsImports
Country by Section level of SITCOctOctJan-OctJan-OctOctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
20202021202020212020202120202021
Great Britain1,0171,0549,64511,6612,0001,48213,87210,928
0Food and live animals3193272,8752,7982722132,4311,425
1Beverages and tobacco19271541872820224163
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels3338282376171115496
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials14421722641652921,3651,982
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes10137443228
5Chemicals and related products2852192,8713,9923072121,8811,608
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material77906358151951781,6261,395
7Machinery and transport equipment1551881,5402,0476993403,4542,431
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1021218901,1552552091,9871,784
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere1212132059171914
Northern Ireland2043111,9972,9192554222,0163,279
0Food and live animals801127801,0586088585845
1Beverages and tobacco9968791919163181
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels7128011991571106
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials51643711540132280
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes12915332624
5Chemicals and related products225332556276154248722
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material35462774233238324419
7Machinery and transport equipment15241442731921208230
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles2430174256922117186
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere5697621122142286
EU 2724,8185,08153,18550,9722,3732,59723,56327,438
0Food and live animals3153393,2223,1482232082,3262,200
1Beverages and tobacco47463173533532342321
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels46854957402626235300
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials821411482683246602
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes3639551217134161
5Chemicals and related products3,3823,53439,44135,5217968446,0517,688
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material60695316671551681,3991,664
7Machinery and transport equipment4024334,5385,22981590010,37611,400
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5125254,1584,7612032181,6892,066
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere4442303351831017641,036
USA3,5655,65942,28043,2601,1291,59010,89413,622
0Food and live animals37443504072034166240
1Beverages and tobacco5249456540121421
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels221521364151
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials000196998651636
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00000011
5Chemicals and related products2,6434,72633,71233,8743134903,3604,211
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material37203071843734349418
7Machinery and transport equipment3193133,2913,2625677945,2126,756
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4725014,1224,9351121271,0411,249
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere222919655939
China39359869,2109,6116037725,3066,451
0Food and live animals6649682590555156
1Beverages and tobacco11790011
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels543842242334
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials0-000000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes10350000
5Chemicals and related products1281711,4581,64834100407697
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2323265388550712
7Machinery and transport equipment6236676,0656,1803333152,8003,133
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles110909331,1101752591,4501,817
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere000030241
Rest of World1,6911,68418,54517,8251,3001,94413,06819,653
0Food and live animals1481971,6941,79770818521,073
1Beverages and tobacco24261762422011140126
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels18542423482930270260
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials121228314151834161,121
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes01510565571
5Chemicals and related products1,06088810,8299,7314845995,5705,995
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material192615018570112519976
7Machinery and transport equipment1962163,2092,9693446813,1607,418
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles2112411,9412,1462592402,0372,582
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere2347183404930
         
Total12,23014,774134,862136,2487,6608,80768,71981,371
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. October 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.
Table 6 Goods Exports by industrial origin and area of destination
€million
Industrial origin and areaExports
OctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
2020202120202021
Agricultural produce7318396,9157,481
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2943382,6592,867
EU12543022,5372,772
USA4347362411
Rest of World1401511,3571,431
      
Forestry and fishing produce5273601736
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2128193273
EU12533274314
USA0023
Rest of World512132145
      
Industrial produce11,38313,813126,657127,548
Great Britain and Northern Ireland8869908,45111,331
EU14,4954,70750,08047,556
USA3,5215,61141,91042,839
Rest of World2,4802,50526,21725,823
      
Unclassified exports6549689482
      
Total12,23014,774134,862136,248
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
OctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
2020202120202021
Producers capital goods ready for use1,6091,57814,63216,036
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4961632,1361,129
EU14886307,1798,464
USA3815163,0853,946
Rest of World2442682,2322,497
     
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco5765235,4474,914
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3102552,7622,106
EU12061992,0971,995
USA484170
Rest of World5761546743
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,5211,75412,26614,787
Great Britain and Northern Ireland5155863,2383,717
EU13993523,5193,828
USA1541871,6481,866
Rest of World4546293,8615,376
     
Materials for further production - agriculture1861881,9032,087
Great Britain and Northern Ireland5553483452
EU17461701792
USA2232223286
Rest of World3542495557
Materials for further production - other3,6064,63832,76342,194
Great Britain and Northern Ireland8098246,4066,506
EU11,1231,2549,30211,330
USA5648455,8637,438
Rest of World1,1091,71611,19216,920
     
Unclassified imports1611271,7091,353
     
Total7,6608,80768,71981,371
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 (September 2021 in this publication), -4 (June 2021) and -8 (February 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 October 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 October 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.

upArrowHide Background Notes

Scan the QR code below to view this release online or go to
http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/gei/goodsexportsandimportsoctober2021/