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CSO statistical release, , 11am

Goods Exports and Imports

September 2020

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
April 202011,4675,9925,475
May 202012,9006,5176,383
June 202012,9556,3696,586
July 202013,2558,5044,751
August 202014,3976,7407,657
September 202013,7126,1917,522

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €700 million in September

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

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €684 million (-5%) to €13,712 million in September 2020 compared with August 2020, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €550 million (-8%) to €6,191 million leading to a decrease of €135 million (-2%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €7,522 million in September 2020 compared with the previous month (see Table 2).

Exports increased by almost €1.5 billion in September

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for September 2020 was €13,973 million representing an increase of €1,469 million (+12%) when compared with September 2019. The value of goods exports for the period January to September 2020 was €122,361 million, an increase of €8,645 million (+8%) when compared with the first nine months of 2019.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €830 million (+17%) to €5,646 million, accounting for 40% of the total value of exports.

Exports of Organic chemicals increased by €1,014 million (+57%) to €2,788 million in September 2020 compared with September 2019.

Exports of Food and live animals increased by €52 million (+5%) to €1,007 million.

Exports of Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances decreased by €62 million (-8%) to €758 million over the same comparative period (see Table 3).

Imports decreased by over €1 billion in September

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for September 2020 was €6,275, a decrease of €1,052 million (-14%) when compared with September 2019. The value of goods imports for January to September 2020 was €61,428 million, which is a decrease of €4,557 million (-7%) compared with the first three-quarters of 2019.

Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft decreased by €939 million (-57%) to €707 million in September 2020 compared with September 2019.

Imports of Organic chemicals decreased by €81 million (-20%) to €323 million.

Imports of Petroleum decreased by €62 million (-20%) to €245 million (see Table 3).

The value of goods imports for September 2020 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €5,568 million, a decrease of €113 million (-2%) when compared with the corresponding September 2019 figure of €5,681 million.

Exports to Great Britain fell slightly in September

Exports to Great Britain decreased by €19 million (-2%) to €1,072 million in September 2020 compared with September 2019. Exports to Great Britain accounted for 8% of the total value of exports.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first nine months of 2020 was €8,941 million, a decrease of €1,085 million (-11%) compared with January to September of 2019.

Imports from Great Britain in September 2020 decreased by €48 million (-3%) to €1,451 million compared with September 2019. Imports from Great Britain were 23% of the value of total imports in September 2020.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for January to September 2020 was €12,771 million, a decrease of €683 million (-5%) compared with the first three-quarters of 2019 (see Table 4).

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €5,586 million (40%) of total goods exports in September 2020 of which €1,886 million went to Germany and €1,193 million went to Belgium. Total EU exports in September increased by €1,424 million (+34%) compared with September 2019. As the UK had exited the EU on January 31st 2020, this data compares EU trade excluding the UK for both periods for comparative purposes.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,625 million (33%) of total exports in September 2020.

The EU accounted for €2,008 million (32%) of total goods imports in September 2020, which is a decrease of €559 million (-22%) compared with September 2019.

The USA with €1,143 million (18%), and China with €480 million (8%) were the other main non-EU sources of imports (see Table 4).

Exports by industrial origin and Imports by main use

Industrial produce accounted for €13,063 million (93%) of total exports in September 2020. This is an increase of €1,380 million (+12%) when compared with September 2019. There was €5,226 million of this exported to the EU, and €4,586 million to the USA. Agricultural produce accounted for €768 million (5%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €1,179 million (19%) of total imports in September 2020, a decrease of €875 million (-43%) when compared with September 2019.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €1,792 million (29%) of total imports, and Materials for further production accounted for €3,126 million (50%) (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 February 2020 the EU total no longer includes data from the United Kingdom. The new EU total aggregate is labelled EU27. For data comparability we have published the EU27 and the UK data separately for both the current period and previous time periods.

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
2018140,64591,95248,693 156.2  189.2  99.1  99.5  99.6
2019152,49790,82761,670 168.5  192.7  99.5  96.6  103.0
         
2017Quarter 132,17920,98111,197 137.0  160.2  103.3  98.4  104.9
 Quarter 231,07721,7419,335 134.2  182.1  101.9  95.6  106.7
 Quarter 328,98318,54610,437 129.1  152.0  98.1  94.9  103.4
 Quarter 430,54621,6758,872 141.0  176.8  93.8  95.4  98.2
2018Quarter 133,84320,08813,755 152.3  172.2  97.9  95.9  102.1
 Quarter 235,55621,88013,676 161.5  184.3  96.8  97.6  99.3
 Quarter 334,16323,21410,949 148.2  181.9  101.4  104.0  97.6
 Quarter 437,08326,77010,313 163.2  218.7  100.2  100.3  99.9
2019Quarter 137,57021,83715,733 166.5  186.7  99.3  96.1  103.3
 Quarter 238,52722,15216,375 170.6  190.1  99.3  95.7  103.8
 Quarter 337,61821,99515,623 166.5  187.9  99.4  96.3  103.3
 Quarter 438,78224,84213,939 170.8  208.5  99.9  97.1  102.8
2020Quarter 143,83722,04021,798 198.4  189.4  96.8  95.8  101.1
 Quarter 237,78418,75219,032 172.4  163.2  96.6  95.1  101.6
 Quarter 340,73920,63620,103 187.6  177.3  94.6  95.7  99.0
         
2017January9,9077,1972,709 122.8  144.7  106.4  98.9  107.6
 February10,2356,5333,702 135.1  158.7  99.6  98.3  101.3
March12,0377,2514,786 153.0  177.2  103.9  98.1  105.8
April9,8636,8513,012 122.6  167.2  106.2  98.0  108.4
May10,5617,6182,943 139.3  193.4  100.0  94.7  105.7
June10,6537,2723,381 140.6  185.6  99.6  94.0  106.0
July9,1785,6853,493 117.4  140.2  103.2  95.1  108.5
August9,6176,3283,289 126.1  153.9  98.2  93.6  104.9
September10,1886,5333,655 143.8  161.8  93.0  96.1  96.8
October9,6457,0362,609 143.2  180.8  88.3  92.5  95.5
November10,8497,4233,425 151.6  187.0  95.0  96.0  98.9
December10,0537,2162,837 128.3  162.7  98.0  97.7  100.3
        
2018January12,1026,5385,565 159.6  168.8  100.1  95.4  104.9
 February10,4016,4233,978 138.1  163.8  99.4  96.7  102.8
 March11,3407,1284,212 159.1  183.9  94.1  95.5  98.5
 April10,9806,6034,377 155.4  160.9  93.4  101.1  92.4
 May11,8106,9244,886 160.1  182.1  97.4  93.7  103.9
 June12,7668,3524,413 168.9  209.9  99.7  98.1  101.7
 July11,0757,7183,357 144.6  179.8  101.1  105.8  95.6
 August11,5387,2464,293 152.9  176.4  99.6  100.9  98.7
 September11,5508,2503,300 147.1  189.4  103.6  105.2  98.4
 October12,2558,9903,265 164.1  216.5  98.6  100.8  97.8
 November12,9568,8694,087 173.5  219.8  98.9  99.6  99.3
 December11,8728,9112,961 152.1  219.9  103.2  100.6  102.5
      
2019January13,4847,6575,826 179.1  196.0  99.4  96.3  103.2
 February12,4126,5045,908 164.9  165.8  99.3  96.6  102.8
 March11,6747,6763,998 155.5  198.2  99.1  95.4  103.8
 April12,7877,3395,449 169.7  190.7  99.4  94.8  104.9
 May13,6947,3556,339 182.1  189.2  99.3  95.8  103.6
 June12,0467,4594,587 160.1  190.3  99.3  96.6  102.8
 July13,3607,9365,424 177.2  203.2  99.5  96.2  103.4
 August11,7556,7325,023 156.2  172.8  99.3  96.0  103.5
 September12,5047,3275,177 166.2  187.7  99.5  96.6  102.9
 October14,2868,6105,675 189.4  218.6  99.5  97.0  102.6
 November12,8417,7585,083 169.5  194.7  99.9  97.5  102.5
 December11,6558,4743,181 153.5  212.3  100.2  96.9  103.4
          
20204January14,9817,1047,877 203.6  180.7  96.6  97.4  99.2
 February11,7077,8913,815 162.9  207.6  94.8  93.7  101.3
 March17,1507,04410,106 228.7  180.0  99.0  96.4  102.7
 April11,4055,6635,742 160.0  146.9  94.1  95.1  99.0
 May12,8816,2536,628 175.2  166.6  97.8  94.7  103.3
 June13,4986,8366,662 182.0  176.2  97.9  95.6  102.4
 July13,5908,3845,206 189.3  211.4  94.8  97.7  96.9
 August13,1755,9777,199 177.0  161.3  95.3  92.1  103.4
 September13,9736,2757,698 196.5  159.2  93.8  97.2  96.6
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. September 2020 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
Table 2 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted1 series
PeriodValueVolume index
ExportsImportsTrade surplusBase year 2010=100
€m€m€mExportsImports
2017Quarter 131,85221,17010,682 134.1  160.6
 Quarter 230,36621,7158,650 131.0  182.2
 Quarter 330,07419,70310,371 134.2  160.9
 Quarter 430,89020,42510,466 144.0  168.1
2018Quarter 133,21120,28912,922 148.1  172.3
 Quarter 234,88621,89912,987 157.8  184.2
 Quarter 335,69424,75610,938 155.4  193.9
 Quarter 436,78925,01911,770 163.6  206.4
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 142,84922,51520,335 192.3  191.8
 Quarter 237,32118,87818,444 170.0  171.0
 Quarter 341,36421,43519,929 192.3  182.2
      
2017January10,3317,4732,858 123.1  152.9
 February10,6867,0253,661 143.2  167.9
 March10,8346,6714,163 135.9  160.9
 April10,4127,2603,151 131.5  182.0
 May10,1577,4142,743 131.5  189.3
 June9,7977,0412,756 129.9  175.5
 July9,9736,1893,784 127.3  153.3
 August10,0386,7913,247 131.0  164.3
 September10,0626,7233,339 144.3  165.0
 October9,9706,6773,294 141.6  169.7
 November10,3056,8563,449 144.5  171.7
 December10,6156,8923,723 145.8  163.0
       
2018January11,6496,7744,876 151.2  175.5
 February10,8556,8773,978 146.1  172.1
 March10,7076,6394,068 147.0  169.4
 April11,2737,0074,266 157.9  176.0
 May11,5426,5994,943 154.7  175.7
 June12,0708,2933,778 161.0  201.0
 July11,7148,0733,641 151.9  186.2
 August11,7228,1733,549 155.9  197.0
 September12,2588,5103,748 158.4  198.4
 October11,8988,3443,554 154.2  196.9
 November12,1468,2773,869 162.3  202.8
 December12,7458,3994,347 174.3  219.7
       
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
 February12,1128,2413,872 171.8  211.6
 March17,0656,65310,412 214.0  177.4
April11,4675,9925,475 158.6  160.0
May12,9006,5176,383 179.0  179.3
June12,9556,3696,586 172.3  173.6
July13,2558,5044,751 188.8  204.5
August14,3976,7407,657 195.4  183.7
 September13,7126,1917,522 192.7  158.5
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
SepSepJan-SepJan-SepSepSepJan-SepJan-Sep
20192020201920202019202020192020
0Food and live animals9551,0078,6398,5286446865,6495,771
00Live animals other than animals of Division 0325372091782240116257
01Meat and meat preparations2903552,8312,7828670741655
02Dairy products and birds' eggs2982672,3092,2096770650690
03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof38364514052422222211
04Cereals and cereal preparations4647396400105114954862
05Vegetables and fruit25282372421071041,0031,000
06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey1310111953330280294
07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof363731032762116478521
08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)29312732898261653704
09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1541581,5111,6015760552575
1Beverages and tobacco1621551,2201,025110101731761
11Beverages 1621551,2201,0259394675715
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures00001775646
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1231091,2831,0307477770725
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw5555400000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 00107212217
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 00111196
24Cork and wood13161371311817164150
25Pulp and waste paper343728234741
26Textile fibres and their wastes1210998121129
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)138109881414139124
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap68567455691918192171
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes81090861721185206
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials38516305403723274,0173,078
32Coal, coke and briquettes798484764544
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials27344964083062453,1672,165
34Gas, natural and manufactured118104969704822
35Electric current37433811710147
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes5750662124197222
41Animal oils and fats464257121114
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils12791720167188
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0010221820
5Chemicals and related products7,6409,38370,32380,9191,3881,33212,52815,564
51Organic chemicals1,7742,78822,55524,6994043233,3046,058
52Inorganic chemicals27311862442924245246
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials91296812121190190
54Medical and pharmaceutical products4,8165,64637,58846,6485656055,3855,838
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations5805576,0125,9591301181,005924
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)10971123352330
57Plastics in primary forms42383472988072718651
58Plastics in non-primary forms43433894086159578544
59Chemical materials and products nes3482673,1422,5748788751783
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1992341,7461,7564794854,4734,245
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins452426121413
62Rubber manufactures nes91280803032282260
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)24362232032830250228
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof18181341248081739701
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products13141161154653412562
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes40493513575958491459
67Iron and steel16131431197364709572
68Non-ferrous metals127108685040450378
69Manufactures of metals nes63795676641121251,1261,071
7Machinery and transport equipment1,8811,60116,95716,9753,2302,19729,23222,209
71Power generating machinery and equipment7254641869238571,0121,194
72Machinery specialised for particular industries68465375401201091,2431,198
73Metalworking machinery23192291110292
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1861261,5331,2871491931,4021,469
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)3793833,6093,5183643873,8563,729
76Telecommunications and sound equipment1121131,0789191731651,4401,463
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts8207585,9837,1063473612,4062,433
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)36322852471822072,5762,165
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)205853,2722,4661,64670715,1968,467
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,4071,32912,11710,7898298636,7907,272
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings121198872426230188
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc19151621404948435395
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers3102832131711796
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories21291711511911891,4701,560
85Footwear3327214241353298
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5875425,0804,3421601801,4101,684
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1121211,0739873339318390
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes6495985,4785,0293173222,4562,660
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere36152801292322237205
Unclassified estimates259834696031591621,3591,375
           
Total12,50413,973113,715122,3617,3276,27565,98561,428
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. September 2020 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
SepSepJan-SepJan-SepSepSepJan-SepJan-Sep
20192020201920202019202020192020
Austria38373042972324248213
Belgium8921,19312,08113,9211341291,2291,417
Bulgaria98105100232829
Croatia344437121414
Cyprus2234210023
Czech Republic33534483273762465502
Denmark51454934483952381405
Estonia11151011179
Finland19252071991415145122
France4084004,0683,9169254588,2815,615
Germany7321,8869,70813,3186455385,4774,928
Greece1292595221,255665445
Hungary 18192381922114142219
Italy 4845273,0413,5101181321,0071,189
Latvia985652343437
Lithuania442652798776
Luxembourg876272433031
Malta44324311117
Netherlands8286596,4836,1702242092,3142,265
Poland94928728196765622608
Portugal29263132582716209212
Romania3033296289788271
Slovakia796980464037
Slovenia101087110322824
Spain2121811,7711,8541011021,0281,222
Sweden70646955963540508376
EU Country not specified237303104811171069801,604
Total EU2734,1615,58642,38348,4262,5662,00823,46321,279
Euro-Zone43,8155,23738,88145,1392,2401,65620,24217,451
         
Great Britain1,0911,07210,0268,9411,4991,45113,45412,771
Northern Ireland1841881,5991,5211391461,2691,214
Total UK1,2751,26111,62510,4611,6381,59614,72313,985
         
Australia63895607256137186
Brazil15142222202935179152
Canada1981091,1261,3293417453340
China58387546,5127,9114704803,8344,296
India38283222515148485388
Japan2782262,2332,1338078875877
Malaysia191515416114235717362
Mexico1191061,1231,2753128270294
Norway19351742114254410395
Russia4932481335615315234
Saudi Arabia5842503467121457
Singapore44394014101214216363
South Africa29313162281279680
South Korea31303994936583631700
Switzerland844124,1322,3542281691,5073,519
Taiwan45402983834443389378
Thailand111591992931315292
Turkey50675165204050502452
USA4,6604,62535,05638,1551,0541,14310,8219,361
Other countries3304073,3974,3354892572,2361,911
Country unknown692111,6911,481258503,4721,626
Total Non-EU (excl UK)7,0687,12759,70863,4733,1232,67127,79926,164
         
Total12,50413,973113,715122,3617,3276,27565,98561,428
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. September 2020 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 SITCSepSepJan-SepJan-SepSepSepJan-SepJan-Sep
20192020201920202019202020192020
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1,2751,26111,62510,4611,6381,59614,72313,985
0Food and live animals3894173,3483,1683123102,7362,647
1Beverages and tobacco26262221955445339328
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels35353753202424222200
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials31223382102501572,0001,858
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes231721554350
5Chemicals and related products3343113,3142,8931931891,9511,777
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1071209538351942121,7461,726
7Machinery and transport equipment1821731,6561,5603133703,1452,946
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1321161,0899272022201,7321,828
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere36393133349163807626
EU 274,1615,58642,38348,4262,5662,00823,46321,279
0Food and live animals3093423,0282,8852162791,9072,148
1Beverages and tobacco38372932664337276299
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels63356074402226224220
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials66591141116589239
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes2427381114110121
5Chemicals and related products2,6724,16729,00835,8574904644,4755,206
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material56584725001481471,4461,260
7Machinery and transport equipment5054184,5364,3641,39675112,4619,552
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4814724,1363,6591631761,4111,466
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere28472163036798564768
USA4,6604,62535,05638,1551,0541,14310,8219,361
0Food and live animals34393043131817167146
1Beverages and tobacco7664544404111213
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels222113434537
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials0013709261895582
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0-000011
5Chemicals and related products3,7233,79826,25131,0692973382,8073,043
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material15381352703630317313
7Machinery and transport equipment2722312,8892,4104825925,4884,238
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5344504,7343,64911596994927
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere524127959561
China38387546,5127,9114704803,8344,296
0Food and live animals6469632615444046
1Beverages and tobacco11570013
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels343233212421
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials--100000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes10330000
5Chemicals and related products83471,1981,3304844303373
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2118204547405497
7Machinery and transport equipment6225264,2005,0782032171,9082,026
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles631054228231601591,0971,277
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere0000775652
Rest of World1,5701,74818,14017,4071,5991,04813,14412,507
0Food and live animals1571411,3271,5469476799784
1Beverages and tobacco21271551551218104118
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels21342482242122255247
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials122962151993533400
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0025454350
5Chemicals and related products8281,05910,5539,7693592972,9925,164
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material20171681315650559449
7Machinery and transport equipment3002533,6753,5638362656,2313,448
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1971861,7361,7301892121,5551,774
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere259178698107473
         
Total12,50413,973113,715122,3617,3276,27565,98561,428
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. September 2020 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
SepSepJan-SepJan-Sep
2019202020192020
Agricultural produce7047686,1956,083
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2883142,4852,283
EU12512862,4022,265
USA3538309319
Rest of World1301309991,217
     
Forestry and fishing produce5252593542
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1720176169
EU12726285243
USA0012
Rest of World86130127
     
Industrial produce11,68313,063106,394115,027
Great Britain and Northern Ireland9318858,6207,648
EU13,8595,22639,51845,625
USA4,6254,58634,74037,828
Rest of World2,2692,36623,51623,927
     
Unclassified exports6590533709
     
Total12,50413,973113,715122,361
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
SepSepJan-SepJan-Sep
2019202020192020
Producers capital goods ready for use2,0541,17919,35912,775
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1321671,3231,573
EU11,1074699,5386,734
USA2174224,0012,299
Rest of World5981224,4972,169
     
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco5726014,8794,878
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3112912,5702,425
EU12042531,7881,930
USA433937
Rest of World5355482486
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,1751,19010,94010,886
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3373403,1742,955
EU12822992,8713,034
USA1741641,7821,489
Rest of World3813873,1143,408
     
Materials for further production - agriculture1551471,6981,709
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3939402415
EU15058603628
USA2623268201
Rest of World4227425465
Materials for further production - other3,1942,97927,55529,643
Great Britain and Northern Ireland7296966,4455,988
EU18578318,0998,184
USA6265284,6595,298
Rest of World9829248,35210,173
     
Unclassified imports1771791,5541,537
     
Total7,3276,27565,98561,428
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 (August 2020 in this publication), -4 (May 2020) and -8 (January 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 September 2020 was 57%, covering an estimated 88% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for September 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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