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

Goods Exports and Imports

June 2021

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
January 202112,9137,3985,515
February 202112,8527,5355,317
March 202113,3928,1275,265
April 202112,7978,3244,473
May 202113,5678,7244,843
June 202113,7069,0444,662

Seasonally adjusted goods trade imports increased by €320 million in June

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

Seasonally adjusted goods exports increased by €139 million (+1%) to €13,706 million in June 2021 compared with May 2021, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €320 million (+4%) to €9,044 million leading to a decrease of €181 million (-4%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,662 million in June 2021 compared with the previous month (see Table 2). Seasonal adjustment compares month-to-month data by removing fluctuations that June occur due to seasonal patterns in trade.

Exports increased by €800 million in June 2021 compared with June 2020

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for June 2021 was €14,435 million representing an increase of €794 million (+6%) when compared with June 2020. The value of goods exports for the period January to June 2021 was €80,669 million, a decrease of €1,385 million (-2%) when compared with the first six months of 2020.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €328 million (+6%) to €5,979 million in June 2021 compared with June 2020. These products accounted for 41% of total exports.

Exports of Electrical machinery, appliances and parts increased by €280 million (+39%) to €1,001 million.

Exports of Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus increased by €229 million (+57%) to €630 million over the same comparative period.

Exports of Organic chemicals decreased by €762 million (-31%) to €1,712 million.

Imports increased by €2.9 billion in June 2021 compared with June 2020

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for June 2021 was €9,666 million representing an increase of €2,916 million (+43%) when compared with June 2020. The value of goods imports for January to June of 2021 was €48,081 million, which is an increase of €7,862 million (+20%) compared with the first half of 2020.

Imports of Organic chemicals increased by €1,249 million (+202%) to €1,866 million in June 2021 compared with June 2020.

Imports of Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances increased by €466 million (+189%) to €713 million.

Imports of Petroleum increased by €111 million (+65%) to €282 million over the same comparative period.

The value of goods imports for June 2021 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €8,217 million, an increase of €2,407 million (+41%) when compared with the corresponding June 2020 figure of €5,811 million (see Table 3).

Exports to Great Britain increased by €575 million in June 2021 over June 2020

Exports to Great Britain in June 2021 were €1,420 million, an increase of €575 million (+68%) compared with June 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 10% of total exports in June 2021.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first six months of 2021 was €6,724 million, an increase of €1,128 million (+20%) on the first six months of 2020.

Imports from Great Britain decreased by €213 million (-16%) to €1,097 million compared with June 2020. The largest decreases were in the imports of Food and live animals and Manufactured goods (see Table 5). Imports from Great Britain were 11% of the value of total imports in June 2021.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for the first half of 2021 was €5,325 million, a decrease of €2,544 million (-32%) compared with January to June 2020.

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €5,259 million (36%) of total goods exports in June 2021 of which €1,898 million went to Germany, €857 million went to the Netherlands and €761 million went to Belgium. Total EU exports in June 2021 decreased by €927 million (-15%) compared with June 2020.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,274 million (30%) of total exports in June 2021.

The EU accounted for €3,666 million (38%) of total goods imports in June 2021, which is an increase of €1,223 million (+50%) compared with June 2020.

The UK with €1,435 million (15%), the USA with €1,064 million (11%), Switzerland with €964 million (10%) and China with €554 million (6%) were the main non-EU sources of imports.

Exports by industrial origin and Imports by main use

Industrial produce accounted for €13,446 million (93%) of total exports in June 2021. This is an increase of €743 million (+6%) when compared with June 2020. There was €4,894 million of this exported to the EU, and €4,224 million to the USA. Agricultural produce accounted for €888 million (6%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €1,969 million (20%) of total imports in June 2021, an increase of €569 million (+41%) when compared with June 2020.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €1,966 million (20%) of total imports, and Materials for further production accounted for €5,621 million (58%) (see Table 7).

*It should be noted that the detailed data described in Paragraph 3 onwards, and the data in Tables 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are not seasonally adjusted. Only the data described in the first two paragraphs and in Table 2 are seasonally adjusted. 

 

From 1st January 2021 all trade in goods with Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) is treated as non-EU trade and must be reported to Revenue’s Customs declaration systems. Prior to this, data on trade with Great Britain were collected via the Intrastat survey. Under the Revised Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland is legally part of the customs territory of the UK, but effectively remains within the EU Single Market for the movement of goods. In practise, this means that trade in goods with Northern Ireland continue to be reported on the Intrastat survey and on VAT returns.

The results reflect both new data collection methods and changes in trading patterns due to Brexit. We are continuing to work on quality improvements as we incorporate the new data sources and detail available to us from January 2021. 

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
2017122,78582,94339,842 135.8  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
2020161,93486,97874,956 188.6  194.4  94.4  91.7  103.0
         
2019Quarter 137,57721,84715,730 166.5  186.7  99.3  96.1  103.3
 Quarter 238,54022,15816,382 170.6  190.1  99.3  95.7  103.8
 Quarter 337,62922,07815,551 166.5  187.9  99.4  96.3  103.3
 Quarter 438,78924,93613,853 170.8  208.5  99.9  97.1  102.8
2020Quarter 144,20621,74622,461 203.5  192.3  95.2  93.0  102.3
 Quarter 237,84818,47319,374 174.3  162.3  95.4  93.5  102.1
 Quarter 340,52720,84119,687 190.4  184.0  93.7  92.4  101.4
 Quarter 439,35325,91913,435 185.0  241.3  93.5  88.0  106.3
2021Quarter 140,30321,92618,377 202.6  198.2  87.7  91.5  95.9
 Quarter 240,36626,15514,212..........
        
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
 November14,8609,3075,553 211.3  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
 March14,6309,0425,589 218.5  246.0  89.5  94.2  95.0
 April12,4628,1254,336 194.7  214.4  84.5  93.4  90.5
 May13,4708,3635,106 199.0  221.2  89.3  93.2  95.9
 June14,4359,6664,769..........
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000, see background notes.
2 Monthly data have been rescaled to make their average equal to the annual.
3 Export unit value index divided by Import unit value index.
4 Revised. June 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
.. Indices not yet available.
Table 2 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted1 series
PeriodValueVolume index
ExportsImportsTrade surplusBase year 2010=100
€m€m€mExportsImports
2019Quarter 137,58121,74015,841 165.6  187.9
 Quarter 237,69822,13115,567 167.1  192.4
 Quarter 338,54423,39515,148 171.3  198.4
 Quarter 438,90523,09015,816 171.2  189.9
2020Quarter 142,58622,17320,413 192.7  184.3
 Quarter 237,24518,77818,467 169.9  163.8
 Quarter 340,88021,74219,137 192.6  193.9
 Quarter 439,73423,64216,092 186.0  225.1
2021Quarter 139,15723,06016,097 199.7  203.6
 Quarter 240,06926,09213,977....
      
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
November14,4458,7475,699 200.8  260.0
December12,9027,6395,263 185.5  214.3
     
2021January12,9137,3985,515 205.9  198.0
 February12,8527,5355,317 197.7  194.0
 March13,3928,1275,265 195.4  218.7
 April12,7978,3244,473 194.0  224.6
 May13,5678,7244,843 201.7  228.5
 June13,7069,0444,662....
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
JunJunJan-JunJan-JunJunJunJan-JunJan-Jun
20202021202020212020202120202021
0Food and live animals1,0691,1205,6875,5816335693,8893,403
00Live animals other than animals of Division 032655108183211014466
01Meat and meat preparations3233801,8031,8506867443376
02Dairy products and birds' eggs3343271,4481,2967469496411
03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof53392903152322144125
04Cereals and cereal preparations42512612748895565556
05Vegetables and fruit3436163194120110679601
06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey91062603428208161
07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof34342182094841302258
08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)34301922149578511527
09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1791571,1419876148398319
1Beverages and tobacco9213360275410591479436
11Beverages 921336027549686450410
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0000962926
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1141616959288281480497
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw4526280000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 006721119
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 090401156
24Cork and wood172584133152182119
25Pulp and waste paper381840653019
26Textile fibres and their wastes81254701165
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)912637118158181
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap63803874761816114100
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes101158632220151157
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials62604034792084811,7452,300
32Coal, coke and briquettes8155892493162
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials50403173541712821,3441,625
34Gas, natural and manufactured126830168337495
35Electric current42222532233118
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes81142532631149154
41Animal oils and fats7837452198
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils12572229126135
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0000211411
5Chemicals and related products9,2698,90554,08051,9941,6593,29710,27913,522
51Organic chemicals2,4741,71216,72713,7766181,8663,9526,078
52Inorganic chemicals26381781742925175163
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials91151662324126137
54Medical and pharmaceutical products5,6505,97930,83231,2536288693,8364,649
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations7006864,0954,162102110604613
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)11663231269273
57Plastics in primary forms35232011657595435483
58Plastics in non-primary forms42882734786478365409
59Chemical materials and products nes3333681,7191,91688200517715
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1872161,0681,2774695412,7443,080
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins32131612814
62Rubber manufactures nes91750922739166217
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)20311221832430137167
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof141582927676479420
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products141277828652365292
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes39481912765267287341
67Iron and steel121779925989368466
68Non-ferrous metals61046623749268361
69Manufactures of metals nes7064408380106137666803
7Machinery and transport equipment1,6962,16212,04211,0602,4503,55514,60618,930
71Power generating machinery and equipment94150503665129150651929
72Machinery specialised for particular industries5455361348143139863838
73Metalworking machinery4313178145967
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1311648078611881899401,167
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)3723042,4551,9164183742,5332,393
76Telecommunications and sound equipment991116425101731859251,052
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts7221,0014,8185,5202477131,4743,731
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)29351641882053431,5362,043
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)1913392,2791,0349391,4495,6256,711
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,0771,6117,0008,2769399064,7905,055
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings121158662028115164
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc131495763860242334
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers3217139135656
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories1618801012501541,035924
85Footwear2212142834178183
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes4016302,8653,3281921901,1391,071
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks791396507674250273262
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes5517963,2243,9103613771,7522,062
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere6269064231114468
Unclassified estimates26232345205156103914635
           
Total13,64114,43582,05480,6696,7509,66640,21948,081
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. June 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
JunJunJan-JunJan-JunJunJunJan-JunJan-Jun
20202021202020212020202120202021
Austria23291791782724142166
Belgium1,7987619,3466,1921221961,0801,107
Bulgaria13107063332017
Croatia56243711107
Cyprus3215110022
Czech Republic37491983186071335511
Denmark62443092785256286312
Estonia1285413712
Finland252913615610117769
France4364952,7532,8827571,7873,7805,418
Germany1,7861,8988,7519,4206645043,5433,591
Greece249120841696673437
Hungary 24221231722714163135
Italy 4244042,2792,3891611628381,034
Latvia473133442531
Lithuania372160694854
Luxembourg685339422018
Malta3419221245
Netherlands6728574,3024,5802464201,6982,538
Poland1151135657626165406385
Portugal35411871931732130159
Romania36391892631584859
Slovakia8105269482243
Slovenia23118291231523
Spain3112021,3281,11397150749873
Sweden67674144354582231376
EU Country not specified21722651455143248324
Total EU2736,1865,25932,34130,6542,4433,66613,96017,306
Euro-Zone45,8094,88630,38428,1792,1283,32412,21115,180
         
Great Britain8451,4205,5966,7241,3111,0987,8695,325
Northern Ireland2113251,1031,5761743379981,774
Total UK1,0561,7456,6998,3011,4851,4358,8677,098
         
Australia90874584107105143
Brazil1537136189131485233
Canada2181031,0946205266253404
China51,0231,0135,6965,6125705543,1023,465
India30411741983257250354
Japan3193252,2131,52489119767708
Malaysia1933115115812122561,080
Mexico1021709501,0493137203203
Norway253031294254795262390
Russia31402392521415194233
Saudi Arabia3748338324112158
Singapore414127921824177304366
South Africa232713618510115364
South Korea1004336732410591468593
Switzerland2712621,5081,5193549652,3953,025
Taiwan60492921803963245366
Thailand102163913463196277
Turkey46533803663665297495
USA3,5184,27425,14225,4201,0071,0656,3347,444
Other countries4204463,1782,6022123811,1902,171
Country unknown611312692555024701,756
Total Non-EU (excl UK)6,3997,43143,01441,7152,8224,56517,39123,676
         
Total13,64114,43582,05480,6696,7509,66640,21948,081
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. June 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 SITCJunJunJan-JunJan-JunJunJunJan-JunJan-Jun
20202021202020212020202120202021
Great Britain8451,4205,5966,7241,3111,0987,8695,325
0Food and live animals3153221,6461,5322431191,453720
1Beverages and tobacco162083102301812082
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels283716021917109954
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials1034119142106250868988
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes2185322113
5Chemicals and related products1915231,6372,3951851291,075772
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material5880351462171130927705
7Machinery and transport equipment1232339371,1752803141,7591,253
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles801575126802051251,120732
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere2212144147114286
EU 2726,1865,25932,34130,6542,4433,66613,96017,306
0Food and live animals3783441,9251,8122202201,4201,333
1Beverages and tobacco25311671714132194162
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels53723184242228138181
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials2641111141769175343
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes46252914188290
5Chemicals and related products4,8473,73023,99422,0955591,1803,4585,049
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material5252310367134161814952
7Machinery and transport equipment4114682,9602,7241,1881,6766,2827,515
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles3595242,3762,7421692019521,186
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere32271541767881445496
USA3,5184,27425,14225,4201,0071,0656,3347,444
0Food and live animals39491932202024108134
1Beverages and tobacco304823131112811
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels13911472732
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials00003541413243
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes-0000000
5Chemicals and related products2,8033,34420,14820,0713583961,9522,403
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material3519163983636216229
7Machinery and transport equipment2802852,0201,9064504232,9333,659
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles3285252,3592,79197133631709
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere221811544624
China31,0231,0135,6965,6125705543,1023,465
0Food and live animals7079433387573030
1Beverages and tobacco11440010
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels442122341720
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials-0000000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes01250000
5Chemicals and related products3031859721,0625460234366
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2416147265345380
7Machinery and transport equipment5216053,7643,4202102681,6011,787
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles122135483698220149838881
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere000060371
Rest of World2,0692,46913,27912,2601,4193,2848,95314,541
0Food and live animals2663261,4901,6301461998791,186
1Beverages and tobacco20331161663339156180
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels27451872513633199210
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials262117322350120290726
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes238138114651
5Chemicals and related products1,1251,1237,3286,3715031,5323,5604,932
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material406122933755150442815
7Machinery and transport equipment3625702,3611,8353228742,0314,716
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1882701,2691,3652482981,2491,548
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere1217119681829101177
         
Total13,64114,43582,05480,6696,7509,66640,21948,081
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. June 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
JunJunJan-JunJan-Jun
2020202120202021
Agricultural produce7988883,9593,997
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2933241,4641,474
EU13023101,4931,465
USA4249203213
Rest of World162204799844
     
Forestry and fishing produce7165378452
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2028111154
EU13528160180
USA0112
Rest of World158106116
     
Industrial produce12,70313,44677,29375,965
Great Britain and Northern Ireland7081,3844,8966,599
EU15,8174,89430,54228,834
USA3,4754,22424,93425,200
Rest of World2,7032,94416,92215,331
     
Unclassified exports6936423255
     
Total13,64114,43582,05480,669
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
JunJunJan-JunJan-Jun
2020202120202021
Producers capital goods ready for use1,4001,9698,4909,938
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1591041,032565
EU18671,3984,2885,593
USA2662011,8292,096
Rest of World1082661,3411,684
     
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco5565063,2382,817
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2862011,6021,142
EU12122031,2911,158
USA582439
Rest of World5494321478
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,2101,4607,0048,163
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3073081,7641,630
EU13293942,0532,354
USA1561749131,132
Rest of World4195832,2743,047
     
Materials for further production - agriculture2021841,2331,307
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4939298260
EU16675443540
USA2426138167
Rest of World6345354339
Materials for further production - other3,2075,43719,22625,177
Great Britain and Northern Ireland6047563,6903,339
EU18911,5165,4407,163
USA5556553,4004,001
Rest of World1,1582,5116,69710,675
     
Unclassified imports1741101,028679
     
Total6,7509,66640,21948,081
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 (May 2021 in this publication), -4 (February 2021) and -8 (October 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 June 2021 was 72%, covering an estimated 87% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for June is published).

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

Extrastat System

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

Estimation

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

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

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

Unit Value Indices

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

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

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

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

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

Seasonally Adjusted Series

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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