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Goods Exports and Imports April 2023

Exports of goods were €15.1 billion in April 2023

Online ISSN: 2009-5155
CSO statistical publication, , 11am

This release includes changes to the methodology used to breakdown unallocated or unknown products in trade in goods statistics. This new methodology has been applied to data from January 2021 onwards. In addition, changes have been made to the method for allocating partner country for estimated data.  Please see the Information Note.

Key Findings

  • Unadjusted goods exports were €15.1 billion in April 2023, a decrease of €2.1 billion compared with April last year.

  • Unadjusted goods imports were €11.4 billion, which was €80 million more than imports in April 2022.

  • Seasonally adjusted goods exports were €16.3 billion in April 2023, a decline of over €300 million compared with March 2023.

  • Seasonally adjusted goods imports were €12.1 billion in April 2023.

  • Imports from Great Britain were €1.9 billion in April 2023, while exports to Great Britain were €1.2 billion.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (21 June 2023) released Goods Exports and Imports April 2023.

Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division said: “In April 2023, Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods decreased by €2.1 billion to €15.1 billion compared with April 2022. When seasonally adjusted, exports of goods fell by over €300 million compared with March 2023.

The unadjusted imports for April 2023 were valued at €11.4 billion, an increase of €80 million on April 2022. Seasonally adjusted imports were €12.1 billion in April 2023.

Comparing the first four months of 2023 with the same period in 2022, exports of goods were down 5%, and the value of imports increased by 11%. Exports for the first four months of 2023 were almost €66 billion. 

Imports from Great Britain fell by 9% to €1.9 billion in April 2023 compared with April 2022, and the largest decrease was in the imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials which fell by 43%.

Exports to Great Britain fell by 22% to €1.2 billion in April 2023 from April 2022.”

Headline Table

Table A Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted €million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
March 202316,59411,0605,534
April 202316,28912,1094,180
Value change-3051,049-1,354
% change-1.99.5-24.5

Seasonally adjusted goods trade exports decreased by €300 million in April 2023

Seasonally adjusted goods exports fell by €305 million (-2%) to €16,289 million in April 2023 compared with March 2023, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports grew by €1,049 million (+9%) to €12,109 million leading to a decrease of €1,355 million (-24%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,180 million in April 2023 compared with March 2023 (See Table 2). Seasonal adjustment compares month-to-month data by removing fluctuations that may occur due to seasonal patterns in trade.

Figure 1 Goods Exports and Imports April 2023 Seasonally Adjusted
Table 1 Goods Exports and Imports summary analysis

Table 2 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted series

Table B Share of Goods Exports and Imports by region€million
UnadjustedApril 2022 - 2023 January - April 2022 - 2023
20222023Value change% change 20222023Value change% change
Exports         
Total17,20815,093-2,115-12 69,40865,815-3,593-5
Great Britain1,5691,221-348-22 5,4075,5831753
Northern Ireland368380123 1,5041,542372
EU276,4206,431110 26,02727,9861,9598
USA5,4904,176-1,314-24 22,96117,753-5,208-23
Rest of World3,3612,885-476-14 13,50812,952-557-4
         
Imports         
Total11,28411,364801 41,71646,3064,58911
Great Britain2,0501,873-177-9 7,2728,16589312
Northern Ireland375409339 1,6201,686664
EU273,5083,95144313 12,08516,4804,39636
USA1,8751,443-432-23 6,9566,734-223-3
 Rest of World3,4763,6882126 13,78313,240-543-4

Exports and imports by region

The (unadjusted) value of goods exports fell by €2,115 million (-12%) to €15,093 million in April 2023 compared with April 2022. The value of goods exports for the period January to April 2023 was down by €3,593 million (-5%) to €65,815 million, when compared with the same period of 2022.

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports increased by €80 million (+1%) to €11,364 million in April 2023 compared with April 2022. The value of goods imports for the first four months of 2023 increased by €4,589 million (+11%) to €46,306 million, when compared with the same period of 2022.

Exports to Great Britain were €1,221 million, which was 8% of total exports in April 2023. The products which accounted for the largest share of exports were Chemicals & Related Products at €363 million and Food & Live Animals with €329 million.

Imports from Great Britain in April 2023 were €1,873 million, which was 16% of the total value of imports. Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials were valued at €473 million, and imports of Chemicals & Related Products accounted for €523 million (See Table 5).

The EU accounted for €6,431 million (43%) of total goods exports in April 2023, of which €2,123 million went to Belgium, €1,388 million went to the Netherlands and €1,020 million went to Germany.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,176 million (28%) of total exports in April 2023 (See Table 4).

X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
Oct 20215.129187880593982.6568385631.407910618567625.764283375
Nov 20215.78712439950222.7635669782.066712392899445.006429187
Dec 20214.684267437231482.9391330361.483364520623753.94675177
Jan 20226.272840311536452.7967547111.75115700910175.244730516
Feb 20226.302663380545543.349213481.390271869441024.825347098
Mar 20227.031467947564044.001691383999991.833175113577367.400502251
Apr 20226.420026746059943.3606734591.937093786286225.490089082
May 20226.29837021940854.395322705999991.830222627515385.390377409
Jun 20226.380372263521533.8688538712.408873480092575.086599753
Jul 20226.252539648653993.338236853999991.570294844402193.745679746
Aug 20228.550596346793933.6237918051.926268495332775.286338789
Sep 20227.579231229750944.0854354171.830084352254055.904198153
Oct 20226.586961722230783.5914411432.080607897330655.306523683
Nov 20226.6513104762083.188474921999992.01692968177415.032571309
Dec 20225.927901230254223.2131901331.575701022201374.503840011
Jan 20236.948407621474482.900158809999991.687849813534463.819107661
Feb 20237.463035213824323.3991058021.651771607878294.138414131
Mar 20237.143759722935423.7675323532.183716667249155.6191071
Apr 20236.431159544996042.884843909000011.600901733571424.176029584
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
Oct 20212.686289757647192.783228914400161.934102385219671.5903038632994
Nov 20213.504456884285743.337340206392541.973958568675651.59372048411895
Dec 20213.383593461406563.2546616178332.183510024974072.30676084384214
Jan 20222.655911676607143.26110862417222.130945750062861.31652224622383
Feb 20222.832724430099992.905749117029111.925171645882071.43438147581768
Mar 20223.181089741645914.140741801417052.379018212881752.33093602471201
Apr 20223.541911024155133.475667000045362.415708730386421.87450129891659
May 20223.657279723009095.049745297346772.389577838441222.18781775376064
Jun 20223.717082487622644.644756992632312.591225724404751.87929043009657
Jul 20223.142184348437353.977678277043522.280313831304031.30211393590302
Aug 20223.234076307333024.422665966146232.707940267113612.10920545319726
Sep 20224.524279443212123.650206186163882.436992748335492.44974277170222
Oct 20224.083011242137873.432833330362783.160683566745861.79931983564256
Nov 20223.957689418002163.824776778732772.483273757269891.77451951799208
Dec 20224.458715501140483.902066606802122.342380948944181.85151532102646
Jan 20234.458715501140483.902066606802122.342380948944181.85151532102646
Feb 20232.964482851401163.721273988561882.754311548553621.6296088414914
Mar 20234.003387320103882.979605805372262.54288146826881.6197783288128
Apr 20235.562230556998822.124072894205791.921877893697581.57807367384271

Exports by product

Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products decreased by €1,578 million (-23%) to €5,314 million in April 2023 compared with April 2022. This represented 35% of total exports.

Exports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances fell by €416 million (-36%) to €753 million.

Exports of Professional, Scientific & Controlling Apparatus grew by €97 million (+14%) to €773 million.

Exports of Organic Chemicals decreased by €156 million (-5%) to €2,937 million in April 2023 compared with April 2022 (See Table 3).

Figure 4 Exports by product April 2022 - April 2023

Imports by product

Imports of Other Transport Equipment (including Aircraft) were up by €398 million (+35%) to €1,522 million in April 2023 compared with April 2022.

Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials decreased by €424 million (-33%) to €873 million.

Imports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances fell by €132 million (-16%) to €693 million.

Imports of Organic Chemicals were up by €309 million (+25%) to €1,540 million.

The value of goods imports for April 2023 excluding SITC 79 (Other Transport Equipment, Including Aircraft) fell by €318 million (-3%) to €9,842 million, compared with the corresponding April 2022 figure of €10,160 million (See Table 3).

 

Figure 5 Imports by product April 2022 - April 2023
Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity

Table 4 Goods Exports and Imports classified by country

Table 5 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity and principal countries

Table 6 Goods Exports by industrial origin and area of destination

Table 7 Goods Imports by main use and area of origin