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Goods Exports and Imports December 2022

Record levels of exports and imports in 2022

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

Key Findings

  • The first estimates for 2022 show that exports were valued at €208 billion, and imports were €140 billion.

  • Unadjusted goods exports were €14.8 billion in December 2022, an increase of €1.7 billion compared with December last year.

  • Unadjusted goods imports were €11.4 billion, which was €225 million higher than imports in December 2021.

  • Seasonally adjusted goods exports were €16.4 billion in December 2022, up €575 million compared with November 2022.

  • Seasonally adjusted goods imports were €10.4 billion in December 2022.

  • Imports from Great Britain were €1.7 billion in December 2022, while exports to Great Britain were €1.1 billion.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (15 February 2023) released Goods Exports and Imports December 2022.

Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division said: “In 2022, Ireland’s exports of goods reached a record level of €208 billion, an increase of more than €42 billion compared with 2021.  Imports also reached a record level of €140 billion in 2022, up 35% compared with 2021.

In December 2022, Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods increased by €1.7 billion to €14.8 billion compared with December 2021.  When seasonally adjusted, exports of goods rose by €575 million when compared with November 2022.

The unadjusted imports for December 2022 were valued at €11.4 billion, a growth of €225 million on December 2021.  Seasonally adjusted imports were €10.4 billion in December 2022.

Imports from Great Britain fell by 10% to €1.7 billion in December 2022 compared with December 2021.  The largest decrease was in the imports of Chemicals & Related products while exports to Great Britain were unchanged in December 2022 compared with December 2021.”

Headline Table

Table A Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted
€million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
November 202215,81411,2854,529
December 202216,38910,4425,947
Value change575-8431,418
% change3.6-7.431.3

Seasonally adjusted goods trade exports increased by €575 million in December 2022.

Seasonally adjusted goods exports increased by €575 million (+4%) to €16,389 million in December 2022 compared with November 2022, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €842 million (-7%) to €10,442 million leading to a rise of €1,417 million (+31%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €5,947 million in December 2022 compared with November 2022 (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 December 2022 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
UnadjustedDecember 2021 - 2022 January - December 2021 - 2022
20212022Value change% change 20212022Value change% change
Exports         
Total13,05414,7841,73013 165,715208,20842,49326
Great Britain1,1361,13710 14,41817,1672,74919
Northern Ireland3454045817 3,7644,9421,17731
EU274,6865,9921,30628 61,66280,63918,97631
USA3,9474,39044311 52,56763,03210,46520
Rest of World2,9392,861-78-3 33,30342,4299,12627
          
Imports         
Total11,12911,3542252 103,801140,19936,39835
Great Britain1,9071,722-184-10 15,46824,0408,57255
Northern Ireland277627350127 4,0445,3541,31032
EU273,3843,76137811 34,64742,4477,80023
USA2,3071,362-945-41 18,12521,7213,59620
 Rest of World3,2553,88162719 31,51746,63715,12048

Exports and imports by region

The (unadjusted) value of goods exports rose by €1,730 million (+13%) to €14,784 million in December 2022 compared with December 2021. The value of goods exports for the year 2022 increased by €42,493 million (+26%) to €208,208 million, when compared with 2021.

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports grew by €225 million (+2%) to €11,354 million in December 2022 compared with December 2021. The value of goods imports for 2022 rose by €36,398 million (+35%) to €140,199 million, when compared with the same period of 2021.

Exports to Great Britain were €1,137 million, which was 8% of total exports in December 2022.  The products accounting for the largest share of exports were Chemicals & Related Products, at €394 million and Food & Live Animals at €311 million.

Exports to Great Britain for the year 2022 increased by €2,749 million (+19%) to €17,167 million compared with 2021, while exports to Northern Ireland rose by €1,177 (+31%) to €4,942 million.

Imports from Great Britain in December 2022 were €1,722 million, which was 15% of the total value of imports. Imports of Mineral Fuels accounted for €574 million, and imports of Chemicals & Related Products were valued at €335 million (see Table 5).

Imports from Great Britain increased by €8,572 (+55%) to €24,040 million in 2022 compared with 2021. Imports from Northern Ireland grew by €1,310 (+32%) to €5,354 million.

The EU accounted for €5,992 million (41%) of total goods exports in December 2022, of which €2,201 million went to Germany, €1,104 million went to the Netherlands, and €866 million went to Belgium.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,390 million (30%) of total exports in December 2022. Exports to the USA in the year 2022 were €63,032 million. (see Table 4).

X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
Jun 20215.602143243949043.1127727041.753209936016544.281263191
Jul 20214.526851182794343.1345597571.790837127557283.750234214
Aug 20214.853425600656522.7857945491.298058714614044.229442456
Sep 20215.856192102924832.7936741251.737164236760244.384452418
Oct 20215.129187880593972.6568385631.407910618567625.764283375
Nov 20215.78712439950222.7635669782.066712392899445.006429187
Dec 20214.686307044882062.9391330361.481324912973173.94675177
Jan 20226.277254623841992.7967547111.748284469296165.244730516
Feb 20226.307500487829983.349213481.386976534656594.825347098
Mar 20227.033288373249324.001691383999991.831354687892077.400502251
Apr 20226.423693943285783.3606734591.933796614460375.490089082
May 20226.300891233649064.395322705999991.828044503478815.390377409
Jun 20226.382544132968863.8688538712.406701610645235.086599753
Jul 20226.289552800236393.306236853999991.574997905818053.674679746
Aug 20228.596849146533533.6237918051.94809551920085.286338789
Sep 20227.767056296044634.0854147531.837331090311945.904288261
Oct 20226.612972823721523.5914411432.059204236060615.306523683
Nov 20226.654520782528313.188474921999992.013719375453775.032571309
Dec 20225.992423674474362.8611901331.540328087712834.389840011
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
Jun 20213.686537758305623.12188091276261.778374552956661.30265117268739
Jul 20212.791743766344012.209228411696831.458667579085141.336498983027
Aug 20212.144279270205792.47215954017111.605727168214211.58098671866229
Sep 20212.546513589622042.541222253082681.738502188785971.63970936335317
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 20223.169711340040964.000792666735782.282513376390921.27258290677021
Aug 20223.315720771531644.381133069423222.794487507596332.05752350369794
Sep 20224.573787193295663.638238132102192.49237438059142.43188414696008
Oct 20224.083011242137873.432833330362783.160683566745861.79931983564256
Nov 20223.957689418002163.824776778732772.483273757269891.77451951799208
Dec 20223.761159259831563.881227291864152.349552919392791.36177820012353

Exports by product

Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products increased by €642 million (+14%) to €5,297 million in December 2022 compared with December 2021. This represented 36% of total exports.

Exports of Organic Chemicals rose by €515 million (+29%) to €2,263 million.

Exports of Professional, Scientific & Controlling Apparatus grew by €404 million (+70%) to €981 million.

Exports of Food & Live Animals were up by €152 million (+14%) to €1,231 million in December 2022 compared with December 2021 (see Table 3).

Figure 4 Exports by product 2021 - 2022

Imports by product

Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Products increased by €269 million (+32%) to €1,107 million in December 2022 compared with December 2021.

Imports of Machinery Specialised for Particular Industries grew by €131 million (+71%) to €315 million.

Imports of Organic Chemicals rose by €196 million (+18%) to €1,304 million.

Imports of Other Transport Equipment (including aircraft) decreased by €1,145 million (-46%) to €1,328 million.

The value of goods imports for December 2022 excluding SITC 79 (Other Transport Equipment, Including Aircraft) were up by €1,370 million (+16%) to €10,026 million, compared with the corresponding December 2021 figure of €8,655 million (see Table 3).

Figure 5 Imports by product 2021 - 2022
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