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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

July 2021

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
June 202113,8389,2204,617
July 202113,1828,0725,110
% change-4.7-12.410.6
Value change-656-1,148493

Seasonally adjusted goods trade exports decreased by €656 million in July

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

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €656 million (-5%) to €13,182 million in July 2021 compared with June 2021, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €1,148 million (-12%) to €8,072 million leading to an increase of €493 million (+11%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €5,110 million in July 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 decreased by over €700 million in July 2021 compared with July 2020

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for July 2021 was €12,876 million representing a decrease of €736 million (-5%) when compared with July 2020. The value of goods exports for the period January to July 2021 was €93,893 million, a decrease of €1,773 million (-2%) when compared with the first seven months of 2020.

Exports of Organic chemicals decreased by €1,061 million (-38%) to €1,698 million in July 2021 compared to July 2020.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products decreased by €495 million (-10%) to €4,500 million.

Exports of Electrical machinery, appliances and parts increased by €223 million (+31%) to €945 million.

Exports of Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus increased by €129 million (+26%) to €630 million over the same comparative period.

Imports fell by over €600 million in July 2021 compared with July 2020

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for July 2021 was €7,744 million representing a decrease of €634 million (-8%) when compared with July 2020. The value of goods imports for January to July of 2021 was €55,972 million, which is an increase of €7,375 million (+15%) compared with January to July 2020.

Imports of Other transport equipment (including aircraft) decreased by €758 million (-42%) to €1,054 million in July 2021 compared with July 2020.

Imports of Organic chemicals decreased by €455 million (-41%) to €657 million.

Imports of Electrical machinery, appliances and parts increased by €220 million (+76%) to €507 million.

Imports of Petroleum increased by €199 million (+108%) to €383 million over the same comparative period.

The value of goods imports for July 2021 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €6,690 million, an increase of €124 million (+2%) when compared with the corresponding July 2020 figure of €6,566 million (see Table 3).

Exports to Great Britain increased by €567 million in July 2021 over July 2020

Exports to Great Britain in July 2021 were €1,506 million, an increase of €567 million (+60%) compared with July 2020. The largest increases were in the exports of Chemicals and related products and Machinery and transport equipment (see Table 5). Exports to Great Britain accounted for 12% of total exports in July 2021.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first seven months of 2021 was €8,215 million, an increase of €1,680 million (+26%) on the first seven months of 2020.

Imports from Great Britain in July 2021 decreased by €467 million (-32%) to €983 million compared with July 2020. The largest decreases were in the imports of 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 13% of the value of total imports in July 2021.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for January to July 2021 was €6,319 million, a decrease of €2,931 million (-32%) compared with January to July 2020.

Imports from Northern Ireland exceed €2.1 billion in the first seven months of 2021

Imports from Northern Ireland in the first seven months of 2021 increased by €800 million (+60%) to €2,122 million when compared with January to July 2020.

Exports to Northern Ireland were €1,894 million in the period January to July 2021, an increase of €592 million (+45%) on the same period in 2020.

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €4,478 million (35%) of total goods exports in July 2021 of which €1,318 million went to Germany, €831 million went to the Netherlands and €714 million went to Belgium. Total EU exports in July 2021 decreased by €870 million (-16%) compared with July 2020.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €3,624 million (28%) of total exports in July 2021.

The EU accounted for €2,667 million (34%) of total goods imports in July 2021, which is a decrease of €307 million (-10%) compared with July 2020.

The USA with €1,330 million (17%), the UK with €1,244 million (16%) and China with €639 million (8%) were the main non-EU sources of imports.

Exports by industrial origin and Imports by main use

Industrial produce accounted for €11,943 million (93%) of total exports in July 2021. This is a decrease of €794 million (-6%) when compared with July 2020. There was €4,116 million of this exported to the EU, and €3,579 million to the USA. Agricultural produce accounted for €828 million (6%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €1,624 million (21%) of total imports in July 2021, a decrease of €731 million (-31%) when compared with July 2020.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €1,901 million (25%) of total imports, and Materials for further production accounted for €4,109 million (53%) (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. See link to information note. 

Information Note on Revision to Trade with Northern Ireland

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
Period€millionBase year 2010=100
Value1Volume index2Unit value index2Terms of trade3
ExportsImportsTrade surplusExportsImportsExportsImports
2016119,29274,23745,055 125.6  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
2020161,98887,01474,974 188.6  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
          
20204January14,9827,1087,875 207.1  185.4  95.5  94.5  101.1
 February11,5657,9713,594 166.4  215.7  91.7  91.1  100.7
 March17,6596,66710,992 236.9  175.7  98.4  93.5  105.2
 April11,3375,5715,766 160.3  147.7  93.3  93.0  100.4
 May12,8706,1536,717 180.3  163.8  94.2  92.6  101.7
 June13,6416,7506,891 182.4  175.4  98.7  94.8  104.1
 July13,6128,3785,234 191.8  221.6  93.7  93.1  100.5
 August12,9305,9996,932 182.8  164.5  93.3  89.9  103.8
 September13,9856,4647,521 196.7  166.0  94.0  94.1  99.9
 October12,2257,6604,566 173.8  210.0  92.9  89.2  104.1
 November14,9149,3435,571 211.3  261.4  92.8  87.7  105.8
 December12,2688,9523,316 170.0  252.6  94.8  87.0  108.9
          
20214January13,3366,3207,016 202.0  171.6  87.1  90.8  96.0
 February12,3376,5655,772 187.3  177.1  86.6  89.5  96.8
 March14,7139,0895,623 232.0  234.1  83.7  95.7  87.5
 April12,4628,1254,336 190.3  212.7  86.4  94.1  91.8
 May13,4708,3635,106 199.0  221.2  89.3  93.2  95.9
 June14,7019,7654,935 212.6  251.6  91.2  96.7  94.4
 July12,8767,7445,132 186.2  201.6  91.3  94.7  96.4
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. July 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
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
December12,9167,6185,299 185.3  213.3
     
2021January12,9267,3745,553 205.8  197.0
 February12,8607,4615,400 197.2  202.4
 March13,4448,0765,368 205.9  210.4
 April12,7958,2614,534 190.0  221.9
 May13,5508,6294,922 201.4  226.4
 June13,8389,2204,617 200.0  227.0
 July13,1828,0725,110 194.4  208.5
1 Seasonally adjusted data has been revised from January 2010 onwards using X-13-ARIMA methodology, implemented in JDEMETRA+. Previously X-11 methodology was used.
Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity1
€million
SITC (Rev 4)ExportsImports
JulJulJan-JulJan-JulJulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
20202021202020212020202120202021
0Food and live animals1,0081,0426,6956,6786095414,4983,961
00Live animals other than animals of Division 031635124235211416579
01Meat and meat preparations3243402,1272,1997468517451
02Dairy products and birds' eggs2963261,7441,6666950565452
03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof46423373592520169148
04Cereals and cereal preparations48463093219791662655
05Vegetables and fruit2335186230114101793705
06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey121073703129239192
07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof36382542485346355306
08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)32352252536072571606
09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1751351,3161,0976449462366
1Beverages and tobacco15116275491910088579528
11Beverages 1511627539199682545495
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0000463432
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1091838041,1257884558587
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw5731350000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 0067111311
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 071471157
24Cork and wood1626101160172399145
25Pulp and waste paper382148433422
26Textile fibres and their wastes81162811176
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)815718916169798
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap56994435861819132120
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes111069742118172177
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials41794435602245191,9702,829
32Coal, coke and briquettes1011681024243587
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials24663414221843831,5282,017
34Gas, natural and manufactured227103350371545
35Electric current50272636236180
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes8950622732176188
41Animal oils and fats774454221110
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils11692228148163
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0000321715
5Chemicals and related products8,8867,50762,96659,7892,1941,71712,47314,956
51Organic chemicals2,7591,69819,48516,1081,1126575,0646,531
52Inorganic chemicals25242031992931204195
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials101261782424150163
54Medical and pharmaceutical products4,9954,50035,82735,3936355904,4715,247
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations7097994,8044,962117114721729
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)11662128290302
57Plastics in primary forms28222281888388518584
58Plastics in non-primary forms45753185576382428491
59Chemical materials and products nes3153762,0342,298111102628713
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2082351,2761,5235255773,2693,687
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins33161912916
62Rubber manufactures nes920591193239198256
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)25371472203330170201
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof1516971097476553499
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products131391968149446345
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes42502323256074347417
67Iron and steel13189211274105442578
68Non-ferrous metals7954723457302419
69Manufactures of metals nes8170488449135146801956
7Machinery and transport equipment1,7462,12213,78813,2103,5633,03718,16822,200
71Power generating machinery and equipment842425879112642669151,196
72Machinery specialised for particular industries9474455427134140998993
73Metalworking machinery28152510136883
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1661659731,0291941951,1351,372
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)3943682,8492,2844543872,9862,807
76Telecommunications and sound equipment87607295691871991,1111,257
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts7229455,5406,4672875071,7614,247
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)26381912302202771,7572,337
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)1702212,4491,2671,8121,0547,4377,909
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,3771,4928,3779,7168671,0355,6576,211
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings101168772430139197
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc1712111895160293397
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers25191812146871
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories1928991331651901,2001,191
85Footwear2314173541213239
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5016303,3663,9302171941,3561,270
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1141337649044547318310
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes7126713,9364,5473184582,0702,535
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere111310176231016678
Unclassified estimates267324132351691031,083748
           
Total13,61212,87695,66693,8938,3787,74448,59755,972
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. July 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
JulJulJan-JulJan-JulJulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
20202021202020212020202120202021
Austria27252062052920171189
Belgium1,33471410,6807,3571341551,2131,227
Bulgaria11138177332321
Croatia56294321128
Cyprus2317140022
Czech Republic354223335854102389613
Denmark55413643224042326359
Estonia1195611711
Finland222515718210148686
France5304143,2833,2901,1198704,8986,371
Germany1,4421,31810,19310,5605916324,1324,249
Greece141134982830393748
Hungary 25241471972420187153
Italy 5583612,8372,8691661821,0031,226
Latvia5183651452837
Lithuania235446610105767
Luxembourg676046332322
Malta3322261157
Netherlands6348314,9365,3602412761,9382,698
Poland114976788597367479460
Portugal27312152142120151175
Romania3249221312855664
Slovakia10126282692852
Slovenia101292102331827
Spain2132151,5401,3323551171,104987
Sweden65564795043663267445
EU Country not specified22023841693935287362
Total EU2735,3484,47837,68935,4832,9752,66716,92819,966
Euro-Zone44,9874,12835,37232,6422,6972,33014,90317,481
         
Great Britain9391,5066,5358,2151,4509839,2496,319
Northern Ireland1992751,3021,8941992611,3222,122
Total UK1,1381,7827,83710,1091,6491,24410,5718,441
         
Australia6796525506885952
Brazil5620192210122097220
Canada1161431,2107634037292441
China51,0011,0876,6976,7046516393,7304,164
India23381962364959297419
Japan1592022,3721,72690108852806
Malaysia212113613640542941,135
Mexico1231731,0731,2223039232242
Norway3112916055335114297503
Russia36482763011132205265
Saudi Arabia486938639320153523
Singapore48563272743016334382
South Africa344517023010136377
South Korea555542337973166540760
Switzerland3212271,8301,7466992473,0933,272
Taiwan30223222024960293427
Thailand1219751113145227322
Turkey43604234255299347597
USA4,4793,62429,62129,0091,3631,3307,6928,754
Other countries4214693,5993,0702054341,3912,617
Country unknown61111271042572957272,086
Total Non-EU (excl UK)7,1266,61650,14148,3013,7543,83221,09827,565
         
Total13,61212,87695,66693,8938,3787,74448,59755,972
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. July 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 SITCJulJulJan-JulJan-JulJulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
20202021202020212020202120202021
Great Britain9391,5066,5358,2151,4509839,2496,319
0Food and live animals2812981,9271,8312381341,675858
1Beverages and tobacco18191011212418142101
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels3345192264141011064
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials1431133173992049591,193
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes20105442217
5Chemicals and related products2506791,8873,0761811331,245843
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material66884175501771481,086858
7Machinery and transport equipment1592371,0951,4134071882,1451,446
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles931086057682271441,340933
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere241168148015267
EU 2725,3484,47837,68935,4832,9752,66716,92819,966
0Food and live animals3483422,2732,1842131901,6331,529
1Beverages and tobacco33472002203732232197
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels33813515182731165215
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials11101221251454189406
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes452935131595106
5Chemicals and related products3,9522,97027,94625,3845678094,0255,686
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material57613674361491619621,128
7Machinery and transport equipment4354643,3953,2041,6741,0637,9568,677
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4394722,8153,1751962281,1481,435
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere36281902028483522587
USA4,4793,62429,62129,0091,3631,3307,6928,754
0Food and live animals424423526498117141
1Beverages and tobacco7058301369331114
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels131014353037
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials01901971104484346
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00000011
5Chemicals and related products3,4982,60323,64622,6373783192,3302,726
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material39242021223435251265
7Machinery and transport equipment3473262,3672,2357547263,6874,360
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4795462,8383,336106128737837
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere312113534527
China31,0011,0876,6976,7046516393,7304,164
0Food and live animals6558498445773737
1Beverages and tobacco11560011
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels562627241923
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials-0000000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00250000
5Chemicals and related products2072061,1791,2685540290406
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2418185769402451
7Machinery and transport equipment5706904,3344,1153873591,9882,183
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1511226348201401619771,062
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere000030171
Rest of World1,8452,17915,12414,4821,9402,12410,99816,769
0Food and live animals2723001,7621,9541412031,0361,396
1Beverages and tobacco30371472043635194215
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels37492253023334234247
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials152018824340157338883
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes23101610125864
5Chemicals and related products9791,0498,3077,4241,0124174,5835,296
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material4359272397108164569986
7Machinery and transport equipment2354042,5962,2433417012,3935,534
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles2152441,4851,6161983751,4541,944
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere1614134832126138204
         
Total13,61212,87695,66693,8938,3787,74448,59755,972
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. July 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
JulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
2020202120202021
Agricultural produce7388284,6974,901
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2583081,7221,805
EU12693031,7621,822
USA4344246257
Rest of World1681749671,018
     
Forestry and fishing produce6468442524
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2129132184
EU13333192215
USA0113
Rest of World106116122
     
Industrial produce12,73711,94390,03088,177
Great Britain and Northern Ireland8221,4365,7188,038
EU15,0114,11635,55333,247
USA4,4363,57929,37028,745
Rest of World2,4682,81119,39018,147
     
Unclassified exports7437498291
     
Total13,61212,87695,66693,893
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
JulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
2020202120202021
Producers capital goods ready for use2,3551,62410,84411,749
Great Britain and Northern Ireland309981,340667
EU11,3548375,6426,526
USA3873772,2172,445
Rest of World3053131,6452,111
     
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco5544873,7933,314
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2792011,8811,350
EU12071861,4981,347
USA683047
Rest of World6392383571
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,2821,4158,2879,671
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3103062,0741,998
EU13843832,4382,751
USA2071251,1201,259
Rest of World3816012,6553,663
     
Materials for further production - agriculture1521771,3851,495
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4642344306
EU15863500610
USA1610154178
Rest of World3361387401
Materials for further production - other3,8473,93223,07328,946
Great Britain and Northern Ireland6105734,3013,932
EU18871,1156,3278,142
USA7458104,1454,817
Rest of World1,6041,4358,30112,055
     
Unclassified imports1871091,215797
     
Total8,3787,74448,59755,972
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 (June 2021 in this publication), -4 (March 2021) and -8 (November 2020) 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 July 2021 was 70%, covering an estimated 92% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for July is published).

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

Extrastat System

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

Estimation

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

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

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

Unit Value Indices

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

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

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

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

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

Seasonally Adjusted Series

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

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

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

Methodology

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

Services Exports and Imports

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

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