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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

August 2019

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
March 201910,9717,4683,503
April 201912,8337,6765,157
May 201913,4397,1976,242
June 201911,5987,1374,461
July 201913,9327,4306,502
August 201912,1377,4574,680

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decrease in August

Figure 1 Goods Exports and Imports August 2019
go to full release

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €1,795 million (-13%) to €12,137 million in August 2019 compared with July 2019, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €26 million (+0.4%) to €7,457 million leading to a decrease of €1,822 million (-28%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,680 million in August 2019 compared with the previous month (see Table 2).

Exports exceed €100 billion in 2019

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for August 2019 was €11,824 million representing an increase of €286 million (+2%) when compared with August 2018. The value of goods exports for the period January to August 2019 was €102,053 million, an increase of €10,041 million (+11%) when compared with the first eight months of 2018.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €583 million (+15%) to €4,467 million. This represents 38% of the value of total exports.

Exports of Organic chemicals decreased by €697 million (-31%) to €1,523 million in August 2019 compared with August 2018.

Exports of Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances increased by €307 million (+64%) to €788 million. 

Food and live animals increased by €105 million (+12%) to €992 million over the same comparative period.

Imports decrease by €700 million in August

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for August 2019 was €6,554 million representing a decrease of €692 million (-10%) when compared with August 2018. The value of goods imports for January to August 2019 was €58,330 million, which is an increase of €1,399 million (+2%) compared with January to August 2018.

Imports of Medical and pharmaceutical products decreased by €680 million (-50%) to €693 million in August 2019 compared with August 2018.

Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft decreased by €371 million (-37%) to €646 million.

Imports of Organic chemicals increased by €305 million (+107%) to €590 million, and imports of Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances increased by €155 million (+65%) to €395 million.

The value of goods imports for August 2019 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €5,908 million, a decrease of €321 million (-5%) when compared with the corresponding August 2018 figure of €6,229 million.

Exports to Great Britain decrease in August

Exports to Great Britain decreased by €44 million (-4%) to €1,089 million in August 2019 compared with August 2018. The main fall was in the exports of Chemicals and related products, with a smaller increase in the exports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related products. Exports to Great Britain accounted for 9% of total exports.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first eight months of 2019 was €9,534 million, an increase of €434 million (+5%) on the first eight months of 2018.

Imports from Great Britain decreased by €77 million (-5%) to €1,384 million in August 2019 compared with August 2018. The main decrease was in the imports of Chemicals and related products (see Table 5). Imports from Great Britain were 21% of the value of total imports in August 2019.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for the period January to August 2019 was €12,626 million, an increase of €864 million (+7%) on January to August 2018.

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €5,213 million (44%) of total goods exports in August 2019 of which €1,049 million went to Germany and €763 million was exported to Belgium. Total EU exports in August decreased by €871 million (-14%) compared with August 2018.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,005 million (34%) of total exports in August 2019.

The EU accounted for €3,516 million (54%) of total goods imports in August 2019, which is a decrease of €699 million (-17%) compared with August 2018.

The USA with €1,065 million (16%) and China with €501 million (8%) 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
2018140,80892,10548,704 156.2  189.2  99.1  99.5  99.6
         
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 133,84320,08813,755 152.3  172.2  97.9  95.9  102.1
 Quarter 235,55621,88013,676 161.5  184.3  96.8  97.6  99.3
 Quarter 334,16323,21410,949 148.2  181.9  101.4  104.0  97.6
 Quarter 437,24726,92310,324 163.2  218.7  100.2  100.3  99.9
2019Quarter 137,95522,29515,660 168.7  195.1  99.2  93.9  105.7
 Quarter 238,84622,17416,672 175.9  195.2  97.2  93.3  104.1
         
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
        
20184January12,1026,5385,565 159.6  168.8  100.1  95.4  104.9
 February10,4016,4233,978 138.1  163.8  99.4  96.7  102.8
 March11,3407,1284,212 159.1  183.9  94.1  95.5  98.5
 April10,9806,6034,377 155.4  160.9  93.4  101.1  92.4
 May11,8106,9244,886 160.1  182.1  97.4  93.7  103.9
 June12,7668,3524,413 168.9  209.9  99.7  98.1  101.7
 July11,0757,7183,357 144.6  179.8  101.1  105.8  95.6
 August11,5387,2464,293 152.9  176.4  99.6  100.9  98.7
 September11,5508,2503,300 147.1  189.4  103.6  105.2  98.4
 October12,2518,9933,258 164.1  216.5  98.6  100.8  97.8
 November13,0278,9374,090 173.5  219.8  98.9  99.6  99.3
 December11,9698,9932,976 152.1  219.9  103.2  100.6  102.5
      
20194January13,6167,6735,942 182.5  207.7  98.5  91.0  108.2
 February12,5796,7795,800 174.7  178.8  95.0  93.5  101.7
 March11,7607,8423,918 149.0  198.7  104.2  97.2  107.1
 April12,8967,5745,322 170.4  200.7  99.9  93.0  107.4
 May13,7777,3216,456 188.5  192.3  96.6  93.8  103.0
 June12,1737,2794,894 168.9  192.6  95.1  93.2  102.0
 July13,4287,3086,120 181.2  194.8  97.8  92.5  105.8
August11,8246,5545,271 158.4  180.0  98.5  89.7  109.8
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. August 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
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 133,99020,31313,677 150.7  170.2
 Quarter 234,69821,77212,926 158.6  184.0
 Quarter 335,04124,51010,531 152.9  195.3
 Quarter 437,37925,64411,735 164.2  208.8
2019Quarter 137,89522,44915,446 168.6  196.5
 Quarter 237,87122,01015,860 170.9  192.9
      
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
       
2018January12,5146,9335,581 162.2  172.9
 February11,0146,9934,021 143.5  175.7
 March10,4626,3874,075 146.4  162.0
 April11,1296,8864,244 161.2  170.4
 May11,7726,5705,201 157.2  176.3
 June11,7988,3163,481 157.3  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
 November12,1398,1973,942 163.4  203.8
 December12,9959,0663,930 171.5  223.4
       
2019January13,7407,5946,146 184.1  213.4
 February13,1837,3865,797 184.0  188.9
 March10,9717,4683,503 137.8  187.1
 April12,8337,6765,157 169.7  204.3
 May13,4397,1976,242 182.1  186.7
 June11,5987,1374,461 160.9  187.7
 July13,9327,4306,502 190.3  198.4
August12,1377,4574,680 163.4  202.7
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
AugAugJan-AugJan-AugAugAugJan-AugJan-Aug
20182019201820192018201920182019
0Food and live animals8879927,2967,6896906165,0175,055
00Live animals other than animals of Division 0324191991928883101
01Meat and meat preparations3143012,5322,5388485674664
02Dairy products and birds' eggs2313291,7392,0206964583579
03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof38453904152523192199
04Cereals and cereal preparations3743276351133115802871
05Vegetables and fruit2626225211118114893903
06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey1511100932931241248
07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof33342482665352382416
08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)273122124411166661572
09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1421531,3671,3595959506503
1Beverages and tobacco1521628731,0548483556615
11Beverages 1521628721,0547777531582
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0010762533
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1601141,2911,1728083623697
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw7570500000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 10610542220
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 00111177
24Cork and wood13131141231821120146
25Pulp and waste paper544135343145
26Textile fibres and their wastes129898711910
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)1413971201616109128
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap98617866641823166173
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes9987821713160166
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials781487181,2495114893,7464,297
32Coal, coke and briquettes56747710412839
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials49664934703993562,8482,874
34Gas, natural and manufactured221578748669657
35Electric current21741376961480101727
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes4545452322178177
41Animal oils and fats343838111110
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils11762019153153
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0011121415
5Chemicals and related products7,2037,10957,12162,6602,0761,67114,17711,794
51Organic chemicals2,2191,52317,52020,7532855902,2253,070
52Inorganic chemicals14261371583333221237
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials131094882117167170
54Medical and pharmaceutical products3,8844,46730,75432,7621,3736938,5565,210
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations6376605,2895,441103110875885
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)11993411336341
57Plastics in primary forms38352993088873679645
58Plastics in non-primary forms36473313465562447540
59Chemical materials and products nes3613402,6882,7948380671697
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1961931,5671,5504434683,5624,021
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins331819211212
62Rubber manufactures nes7962682631223250
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)27252112002728194221
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof15141051137682596696
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products11111081034243338363
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes43393163105154384430
67Iron and steel13181211296267548634
68Non-ferrous metals91081954344395403
69Manufactures of metals nes69645455121151178721,013
7Machinery and transport equipment1,4131,65311,99815,0462,4052,18222,04724,312
71Power generating machinery and equipment69905925717990607774
72Machinery specialised for particular industries39455134881891071,2121,122
73Metalworking machinery22201814129493
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1351311,2461,3431491391,1981,249
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)3813862,8113,2353984382,7053,676
76Telecommunications and sound equipment105968039621441721,1521,234
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts4827883,3695,1642403951,8052,098
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)23272272301741832,3962,428
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)177892,4163,0351,01764610,87911,638
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,3411,34210,39110,8497417845,4816,023
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings11898842223184203
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc17171261354647355386
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers241522141296104
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories21181341461801831,1751,284
85Footwear3325244144274309
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5345494,1254,5831461481,2191,247
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1171229179583737270289
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes6376234,9504,8962562901,9072,200
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere53383042514129320227
Unclassified estimates251674074901511261,2251,112
           
Total11,53811,82492,011102,0537,2466,55456,93158,330
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. August 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
AugAugJan-AugJan-AugAugAugJan-AugJan-Aug
20182019201820192018201920182019
Austria33373012662321217219
Belgium1,56176311,85411,1311161361,0721,094
Bulgaria81369971222926
Croatia44334111713
Cyprus221732002126
Czech Republic49453734135135383432
Denmark67514854584041341340
Estonia221414121316
Finland19182051891214104115
France4204483,5913,6675176336,4316,980
Germany1,0741,0496,8798,9711,1834537,6414,942
Great Britain1,1331,0899,0999,5341,4601,38411,76212,626
Greece7721382393764447
Hungary 26332232307413297121
Italy 3012772,3092,547103901,128880
Latvia985147643331
Lithuania332223967380
Luxembourg1814108124724638
Malta331135522710
Netherlands6337255,0385,8182272142,0422,081
Northern Ireland1861751,3241,4441251189881,000
Poland871146977745562409542
Portugal32272902841531139174
Romania2531234264785574
Slovakia555265443335
Slovenia865578331924
Spain2191701,7171,56095751,003920
Sweden70645976383668501474
EU country not specified211171082922588293723
Total EU6,0845,21346,24149,4464,2153,51635,13234,085
  of which United Kingdom1,3191,26410,42310,9781,5851,50212,75013,626
Euro-Zone34,4193,57732,99935,2622,3301,69620,06817,714
        
Australia9357592497896565
Brazil29252072071735131147
Canada691118999284826364417
China44228013,3055,6755575013,3633,590
India31332212853746398434
Japan3053902,2991,95512394992816
Malaysia191713913538238254598
Mexico1151269591,0042928231249
Norway232024215514430634368
Russia44353594327619388308
Saudi Arabia37383764451174
Singapore64374723571517305207
South Africa245318728712127984
South Korea49424113925973450610
Switzerland4903094,5714,048513564261,356
Taiwan20432242533242210310
Thailand121097804443283357
Turkey37394364664350361461
USA3,2004,00525,84930,3391,2911,0659,5539,882
Other countries3113942,6963,0672112261,5691,651
Country unknown560241,2291,5991951251,7372,329
Total Non-EU5,4546,61145,77052,6063,0313,03821,80024,245
         
Total11,53811,82492,011102,0537,2466,55456,93158,330
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. August 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 SITCAugAugJan-AugJan-AugAugAugJan-AugJan-Aug
20182019201820192018201920182019
Great Britain1,1331,0899,0999,5341,4601,38411,76212,626
0Food and live animals3143052,5712,5192672512,0282,068
1Beverages and tobacco19191291453033189226
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels38343042741716139150
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials35903028652412431,9632,278
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes111211322925
5Chemicals and related products3442852,7602,6981981621,7881,689
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material87806796421601691,2891,465
7Machinery and transport equipment1691581,3291,3632652672,1662,676
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles98887997951891781,4341,480
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere27282142219264737571
Other EU24,9524,12437,14239,9132,7542,13223,37021,459
0Food and live animals3664332,9413,1632842472,1362,077
1Beverages and tobacco40422613024038268286
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels86626946232828211250
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials21231761523469613705
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes3431291614113112
5Chemicals and related products3,3802,58224,21626,5901,2454977,8194,066
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material77706356221491561,2771,399
7Machinery and transport equipment4794174,1344,1507358599,11510,697
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4614463,7603,9521481531,2071,293
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere40462943297570610574
USA3,2004,00525,84930,3391,2911,0659,5539,882
0Food and live animals36422052702317160150
1Beverages and tobacco7178362468211111
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels222519833541
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials808513749164173801
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0-000011
5Chemicals and related products2,2243,05718,84522,5122964262,3232,636
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material17161141203839279295
7Machinery and transport equipment3112582,3512,5787572915,6644,964
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5215473,8224,200107115812899
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere95393612109485
China34228013,3055,6755575013,3633,590
0Food and live animals4453489568542836
1Beverages and tobacco01250000
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels643729222522
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials005110000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00130000
5Chemicals and related products127991,0131,11415244468294
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material3231164747317360
7Machinery and transport equipment1835861,2663,5792032581,6011,878
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5755415359143142880954
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere0000554445
Rest of World1,8321,80516,61616,5931,1821,4718,88410,773
0Food and live animals1271581,0901,17011298666723
1Beverages and tobacco212212013411118792
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels27132312282533214234
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials14351049518713996514
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0012463639
5Chemicals and related products1,1281,08510,2889,7451855421,7793,110
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material13241071485057400503
7Machinery and transport equipment2702342,9173,3764465083,4994,098
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles2052071,5941,5421541971,1491,397
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere2826163153776064
         
Total11,53811,82492,011102,0537,2466,55456,93158,330
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. August 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 (July 2019 in this publication), -4 (April 2019) and -8 (December 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 August 2019 was 71%, covering an estimated 93% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for August 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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