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For more information on this release:
E-mail: Trade@cso.ie Ciarán Counihan (+353) 1 498 4215 Damian Malone (+353) 1 498 4206
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

November 2018

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
June 201811,7827,9093,873
July 201811,8878,1743,713
August 201811,4287,7543,673
September 201811,6548,3833,272
October 201812,1618,0724,090
November 201811,9157,3204,594

Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by 9% in November

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

The value of seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €752 million (-9%) to €7,320 million in November 2018, according to preliminary figures.
 
The value of goods exports decreased by €247 million (-2%) to €11,915 million on a seasonally adjusted basis. This means that there was an increase of €505 million (+12%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,595 million in November 2018 (see Table 2).

Trade exports increased by 18% in November

The (unadjusted) value of goods exports for November 2018 was €12,786 million representing an increase of €1,937 million (+18%) when compared with November 2017. The value of goods exports for the period January to November 2018 was €128,473 million, an increase of €15,814 million (+14%), when compared with the first eleven months of 2017.
 
The biggest category of goods exports in November 2018 was Medical and pharmaceutical products. Exports of these goods accounted for nearly a third (32%) of total goods exports in November 2018, and increased by €964 million (+31%) to €4,038 million when compared with November 2017.
 
Exports of Organic chemicals increased by €539 million (+28%) to €2,470 million in November 2018 and accounted for 19% of total goods exports.
 
Exports of Office machines and automatic data processing machines grew by €154 million (+53%) to €447 million in November 2018, and exports of Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances increased by €162 million (+38%) to €592 million over the same comparative period.
 
Imports grew by 10% in November

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for November 2018 was €7,981 million representing an increase of €755 million (+10%), when compared with November 2017. The value of goods imports for the period January to November 2018 was €81,163 million, an increase of €8,898 million (+12%), when compared with January to November 2017.
 
Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft increased by €362 million (+23%) to €1,962 million compared with November 2017, and accounted for 25% of the total value of imports.
 
Imports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials increased by €140 million (+30%) to €600 million in November 2018.
 
Imports of Office machines and automatic data processing machines were valued at €425 million in November 2018, an increase of €134 million (+46%) over the same comparative period.

Exports to Great Britain increased by 3% in November

Exports to Great Britain accounted for 10% of total exports in November 2018. The most significant categories were Chemicals and related products (€463 million) and Food and live animals (€393 million).

Exports to Great Britain increased by €42 million (+3%) to €1,332 million in November 2018, when compared with November 2017.  The main increase was in exports of Chemicals and related products.
 
Exports to Great Britain for the period January to November 2018 were €12,795 million, which is a decrease of €563 million (-4%) compared with January to November 2017. 
 
Imports from Great Britain comprised 22% of total imports in November 2018. The largest categories of goods were Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€397 million), Machinery and Transport equipment (€323 million) and Food and live animals (€279 million).
 
Imports from Great Britain increased by €111 million (+7%) to €1,779 million in November 2018 compared with November 2017. The biggest increase was in the imports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (see Table 5).
 
Imports from Great Britain for the period January to November 2018 were €16,619 million, an increase of €744 million (+5%) when compared with the first eleven months of 2017. 

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €6,276 million (49%) of total exports in November 2018, of which €1,512 million went to Belgium and €872 million went to Germany. Exports to EU countries in November 2018 increased by €1,096 million (+21%) compared with November 2017.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €3,857 million (30%) of total exports in November 2018.

Imports from the EU were €4,589 million (57%) of total imports in November 2018, which is an increase of €497 million (+12%) over the same month in 2017.

The USA with €1,395 million (17%) and China with €524 million (7%) were the main non-EU sources of imports.

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
2017122,71179,27143,440 135.8  168.9  99.3  96.1  103.3
         
2015Quarter 126,04316,8649,179 110.0  138.6  104.0  99.9  104.2
 Quarter 228,70516,98311,721 114.7  134.9  110.1  103.6  106.4
 Quarter 327,47716,73810,739 114.5  134.9  105.5  102.1  103.5
 Quarter 430,18319,52610,657 123.6  168.1  107.4  95.4  112.5
2016Quarter 127,81317,62310,190 119.5  158.0  100.7  89.4  112.6
 Quarter 230,30718,94411,363 129.0  159.5  102.0  94.8  107.6
 Quarter 330,36118,13112,229 126.5  152.5  103.6  94.2  110.1
 Quarter 430,81219,53811,273 127.6  162.8  104.6  94.7  110.5
2017Quarter 132,14119,22212,919 137.0  160.2  103.3  98.4  104.9
 Quarter 231,04121,1489,893 134.2  182.1  101.9  95.6  106.7
 Quarter 328,98317,85211,131 129.1  152.0  98.1  94.9  103.4
 Quarter 430,54621,0499,497 141.0  176.8  93.8  95.4  98.2
2018Quarter 133,84520,08813,757 159.0  175.2  93.7  94.2  99.5
 Quarter 235,58221,40614,176 168.5  182.8  92.8  96.5  96.4
 Quarter 334,09223,02811,064 156.0  187.7  96.2  100.7  95.5
          
2015January8,2905,3682,922 106.3  131.7  102.9  100.5  102.4
 February8,3485,1363,212 106.9  129.5  103.0  97.8  105.4
 March9,4056,3603,045 116.8  154.6  106.2  101.4  104.8
 April9,6145,6373,977 115.0  131.8  110.3  105.4  104.6
 May9,1805,5353,645 109.5  127.7  110.6  106.8  103.6
 June9,9115,8114,099 119.5  145.3  109.4  98.5  111.0
 July9,4135,7653,648 115.1  138.3  107.9  102.7  105.0
 August8,6265,2093,416 112.1  122.5  101.6  104.8  97.0
 September9,4385,7633,675 116.3  143.8  107.1  98.7  108.5
 October10,7546,3364,418 128.0  164.7  110.9  94.8  116.9
 November10,1796,1963,983 128.2  158.0  104.8  96.6  108.4
 December9,2516,9942,256 114.5  181.6  106.6  94.9  112.3
         
2016January8,8935,1433,750 120.9  142.6  95.6  87.0  110.0
 February8,5665,4813,085 105.0  144.4  106.0  91.6  115.8
 March10,3546,9993,355 132.6  187.0  100.6  89.7  112.1
 April10,0535,5934,460 125.8  144.6  104.1  93.4  111.5
 May9,3856,4122,973 123.6  164.7  99.0  94.2  105.0
 June10,8686,9383,930 137.7  169.3  102.8  96.7  106.4
 July9,4115,7383,672 120.4  144.2  101.9  96.2  106.0
 August10,4645,7234,742 130.8  146.1  103.4  93.1  111.1
 September10,4866,6703,815 128.2  167.1  105.6  93.4  113.1
 October10,1995,7104,489 129.3  142.6  103.1  95.9  107.5
 November11,2017,2473,954 140.6  183.9  104.1  94.4  110.3
 December9,4126,5812,831 113.0  162.0  106.6  93.7  113.8
         
2017January9,9045,8154,089 122.8  144.7  106.4  98.9  107.6
 February10,2006,3403,860 135.1  158.7  99.6  98.3  101.3
March12,0377,0674,970 153.0  177.2  103.9  98.1  105.8
April9,8636,6583,205 122.6  167.2  106.2  98.0  108.4
May10,5617,4373,124 139.3  193.4  100.0  94.7  105.7
June10,6187,0533,565 140.6  185.6  99.6  94.0  106.0
July9,1785,4123,766 117.4  140.2  103.2  95.1  108.5
August9,6176,0993,518 126.1  153.9  98.2  93.6  104.9
September10,1886,3413,847 143.8  161.8  93.0  96.1  96.8
October9,6456,8182,827 143.2  180.8  88.3  92.5  95.5
November10,8497,2263,623 151.6  187.0  95.0  96.0  98.9
December10,0537,0053,048 128.3  162.7  98.0  97.7  100.3
        
20184January12,1036,5385,565 166.7  171.8  95.8  93.8  102.2
 February10,4026,4233,980 144.2  166.6  95.2  95.0  100.2
 March11,3407,1284,212 166.1  187.1  90.1  93.9  96.0
 April11,0456,5244,520 162.8  161.9  89.5  99.9  89.6
 May11,7886,9384,850 166.9  185.9  93.2  92.0  101.4
 June12,7497,9434,806 175.7  200.7  95.7  97.6  98.1
 July11,0597,8803,180 151.4  189.0  96.4  102.7  93.8
 August11,5347,1714,364 162.7  184.1  93.6  96.0  97.5
 September11,4997,9783,521 153.9  189.9  98.6  103.5  95.3
 October12,1678,6613,507 170.1  215.6  94.4  99.0  95.4
 November12,7867,9814,805 177.0  200.3  95.4  98.2  97.1
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000, see background notes.
2 Monthly data have been rescaled to make their average equal to the annual.
3 Export unit value index divided by Import unit value index.
4 Revised. November 2018 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
2015Quarter 126,28616,06210,224 112.0  130.9
 Quarter 228,46017,27111,189 112.9  134.8
 Quarter 327,21117,6129,599 113.7  143.5
 Quarter 430,82319,20511,618 125.8  167.6
2016Quarter 127,86616,68211,184 119.7  149.6
 Quarter 229,75919,10110,659 126.5  161.3
 Quarter 330,22119,06911,152 125.7  161.2
 Quarter 431,01019,29411,716 129.0  159.6
2017Quarter 132,94118,70314,239 137.6  154.3
 Quarter 230,23821,4738,765 131.1  186.1
 Quarter 329,33218,76310,569 131.4  162.1
 Quarter 430,54420,6009,943 142.2  170.7
2018Quarter 133,99220,31313,679 157.4  173.2
 Quarter 234,72621,29613,431 165.4  182.6
 Quarter 334,96824,31110,657 161.0  201.6
       
2015January8,6415,0073,633 110.1  126.5
 February8,9665,3163,650 115.2  130.5
 March8,6795,7392,941 110.6  135.6
 April9,7405,6784,061 117.7  129.0
 May9,3765,8873,489 107.8  133.7
 June9,3455,7063,639 113.3  141.7
 July9,0766,1022,974 113.6  147.5
 August9,1505,7253,425 117.8  137.4
 September8,9865,7863,200 109.6  145.7
 October10,8206,2504,570 128.0  165.5
 November9,5216,1083,413 120.4  158.1
 December10,4826,8463,635 129.0  179.1
       
2016January9,4495,0914,358 127.0  145.3
 February8,9445,5283,417 108.7  143.8
 March9,4736,0643,409 123.3  159.6
 April9,8755,7214,154 125.3  148.7
 May9,6436,5123,132 124.8  167.8
 June10,2416,8683,373 129.4  167.4
 July9,2026,1963,006 118.3  156.8
 August 10,6985,9874,711 132.1  155.2
 September10,3216,8863,435 126.7  171.6
 October10,3565,8014,555 130.1  144.4
 November10,4206,8593,562 130.0  171.3
 December10,2346,6343,600 127.0  163.1
       
2017January10,7745,6925,083 129.5  140.8
 February11,1236,8154,308 141.8  168.3
 March11,0446,1964,848 141.4  153.9
 April9,8607,1952,664 124.0  181.5
 May10,5597,2773,282 136.6  192.1
 June9,8196,9692,849 132.7  184.7
 July9,7295,7573,972 124.5  151.1
 August9,6906,4213,268 126.4  163.3
 September9,9146,5853,329 143.3  172.0
 October9,8396,5683,271 141.9  172.4
 November9,9626,7933,169 140.5  172.9
 December10,7437,2393,504 144.3  166.7
       
2018January12,5156,9335,582 169.4  175.9
 February11,0166,9934,022 149.9  178.7
 March10,4626,3874,075 152.9  164.9
 April11,1946,8034,391 168.8  171.5
 May11,7506,5835,167 163.8  180.0
 June11,7827,9093,873 163.7  196.2
 July11,8878,1743,713 164.8  198.5
 August11,4287,7543,673 161.9  203.8
 September11,6548,3833,272 156.3  202.4
 October12,1618,0724,090 163.5  198.4
 November11,9157,3204,594 166.6  185.8
1 Based on seasonal patterns up to December 2017. Accordingly all values in this table may have been revised.
Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity1
€million
SITC (Rev 4)ExportsImports
NovNovJan-NovJan-NovNovNovJan-NovJan-Nov
20172018201720182017201820172018
0Food and live animals1,0421,03010,40810,1336597016,5417,104
0Live animals other than animals of Division 0372823903625941226190
1Meat and meat preparations3333393,4673,5659090890944
2Dairy products and birds' eggs2062412,2112,3667065719774
3Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof62525515262526269264
4Cereals and cereal preparations3638383384981201,0011,158
5Vegetables and fruit25252772981031081,1511,219
6Sugars, sugar preparations and honey15121461363130348338
7Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof36353493575758552562
8Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)313129231161106723974
9Miscellaneous edible products and preparations2271762,3431,8276457660681
1Beverages and tobacco1341411,2481,2998586841813
11Beverages 1341411,2431,2988583757768
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0041028445
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1721481,6531,7798382838852
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw129122990000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 0188222928
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 0011111010
24Cork and wood13141411611321153170
25Pulp and waste paper656854135342
26Textile fibres and their wastes1112120123111311
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)11101221352215158157
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap100889481,0792423226230
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes1891231191816197203
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials791029021,0504606004,3475,502
32Coal, coke and briquettes88899656165169
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials58116896793464263,4304,161
34Gas, natural and manufactured1113189790704961
35Electric current1383110258127849210
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes7585602122242242
41Animal oils and fats637349121715
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils111091819207208
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0012221819
5Chemicals and related products6,0337,74562,40479,4101,4311,30416,02118,716
51Organic chemicals1,9312,47017,88524,1233133963,1753,222
52Inorganic chemicals2191381673225304307
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials12113191282119230215
54Medical and pharmaceutical products3,0744,03832,86043,1556754648,31210,830
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations6067657,0067,2711461201,3611,237
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)006102933349432
57Plastics in primary forms39433344227889869929
58Plastics in non-primary forms43444534495366569630
59Chemical materials and products nes3063653,4043,6868593852913
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2162002,1212,1604425044,6924,991
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins424025221818
62Rubber manufactures nes7874852529277304
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)28282672902429267274
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof14141481508086807842
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products15131401474445445471
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes45444414435458521550
67Iron and steel14161591706485683776
68Non-ferrous metals12101001084956552546
69Manufactures of metals nes77647527441001151,1211,211
7Machinery and transport equipment1,7611,84519,18216,9973,0533,64529,06632,963
71Power generating machinery and equipment89767198079998933885
72Machinery specialised for particular industries69696637031111461,1871,709
73Metalworking machinery2231271113110132
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1541871,6911,7761451691,4561,672
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)2934473,1573,9422914253,0264,102
76Telecommunications and sound equipment991329311,1671891851,4701,649
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts4305926,0034,8202342972,3412,581
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)28282953093733523,1363,145
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)5983125,6913,4441,6001,96215,40717,087
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,3191,45713,72614,5157918497,5967,891
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings15141361402729248268
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc15141681704347438489
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers2223201516135134
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories23272482061801901,6881,722
85Footwear4437353536377381
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5385785,5875,8051541611,5811,676
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1171241,2451,2653441394387
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes6066956,2836,8733043292,7342,835
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere35443614314452395455
Unclassified estimates250695696401571351,6861,634
           
Total10,84912,786112,658128,4737,2267,98172,26681,163
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. November 2018 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
NovNovJan-NovJan-NovNovNovJan-NovJan-Nov
20172018201720182017201820172018
Austria29353533932227258294
Belgium8301,51211,71716,2981261271,3001,537
Bulgaria587994232345
Croatia343544111010
Cyprus12232200322
Czech Republic42633685534091368670
Denmark69675916794343401469
Estonia222220121118
Finland25292982761114154137
France4634194,9574,9538931,0599,38610,020
Germany8678729,3329,5794846166,3389,971
Great Britain1,2901,33213,35812,7951,6681,77915,87516,619
Greece3822317485445864
Hungary 19272642951111109334
Italy 2393722,3963,4031301251,4441,476
Latvia876079244444
Lithuania1221286107096
Luxembourg1121108166232661
Malta23301200089
Netherlands5756775,4197,0672452232,2302,729
Northern Ireland1731861,7781,8591161241,2581,355
Poland1301751,1711,0695069582606
Portugal32374244002017238189
Romania2349292342999484
Slovakia665371674552
Slovenia1277577322926
Spain2142382,3822,3711351291,2151,355
Sweden62806988464951458620
EU country not specified27217011821538180441
Total EU5,1806,27657,32264,5714,0924,58942,21549,352
  of which United Kingdom1,4631,51815,13614,6541,7831,90317,13317,973
Euro-Zone33,3554,26337,98745,8112,0902,37022,85828,100
        
Australia9171813794131288101
Brazil25181683102931207222
Canada81879701,2865341564486
China44546604,7814,8194375244,1054,864
India45293303019243684527
Japan4292462,3543,1891101201,0801,353
Malaysia59192141906857375390
Mexico1181541,3291,3331834249320
Norway5628367328110661,073929
Russia61454684892539299523
Saudi Arabia4746645502110818
Singapore6561639637936299435
South Africa262322125741097105
South Korea443558855955102890750
Switzerland7475545,7985,9734359510655
Taiwan21302333072943272333
Thailand11191581373137351399
Turkey38444835346281518533
USA2,9213,85730,74536,6071,5791,39515,32214,039
Other countries3293773,6663,7373272092,2692,227
Country unknown511083671,614394427962,604
Total Non-EU5,6696,51055,33763,9023,1343,39230,05131,812
         
Total10,84912,786112,658128,4737,2267,98172,26681,163
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. November 2018 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 SITCNovNovJan-NovJan-NovNovNovJan-NovJan-Nov
20172018201720182017201820172018
Great Britain1,2901,33213,35812,7951,6681,77915,87516,619
0Food and live animals3833933,6183,6982932792,7052,863
1Beverages and tobacco24211961922428254270
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels41303724031416173186
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials36193354492643972,3982,905
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes211316454440
5Chemicals and related products4234634,5713,8372472222,8062,462
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material91908979411641861,6831,822
7Machinery and transport equipment1621701,9941,8263253232,8123,010
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1011141,0701,1372322372,0052,089
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere26302922979988996970
Other EU23,8904,94443,96451,7762,4242,81026,34032,733
0Food and live animals3723833,8944,0002782792,7942,962
1Beverages and tobacco35403563834241423401
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels81888789762529289295
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials19812403276880408831
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes5368411314151155
5Chemicals and related products2,1403,10025,69833,5844694695,2989,922
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material81848268771571701,7201,772
7Machinery and transport equipment6025936,6555,8631,1411,47812,77013,841
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5205204,9555,2431531701,6401,697
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere36523944837978847858
USA2,9213,85730,74536,6071,5791,39515,32214,039
0Food and live animals44314562971934198259
1Beverages and tobacco5764522545121616
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels433933354847
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials001691041941174374
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0-000011
5Chemicals and related products1,9982,82219,21726,9244943085,5393,175
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material19122121593236362384
7Machinery and transport equipment3403695,0073,1178918437,7438,517
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4565525,0665,3761101161,1451,143
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere345651101097123
China34546604,7814,8194375244,1054,864
0Food and live animals8874840698443540
1Beverages and tobacco00430000
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels746851544037
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials001510000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00110000
5Chemicals and related products1301688411,4422254267572
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material3128364143437448
7Machinery and transport equipment1863582,4951,9792092611,9852,381
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles40545025591501531,2771,327
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere0000546358
Rest of World2,2941,99319,81122,4761,1171,47310,62412,909
0Food and live animals1551491,6001,44164104810979
1Beverages and tobacco17161681771816148125
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels39242963163628289287
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials251157119109821,3661,392
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0032434646
5Chemicals and related products1,3421,19212,07713,6231992512,1112,585
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material22131571484770490565
7Machinery and transport equipment4713553,0314,2124877413,7585,215
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles2032162,1342,2001461731,5291,635
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere2027187239777779
         
Total10,84912,786112,658128,4737,2267,98172,26681,163
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. November 2018 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 (October 2018 in this publication), -4 (July 2018) and -8 (March 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 November 2018 was 60%, covering an estimated 88% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for November 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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