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Goods Exports and Imports January 2023

Exports exceeded €15 billion in January 2023

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

Key Findings

  • Unadjusted goods exports were €15.5 billion in January 2023, a decrease of more than €600 million compared with January last year.

  • Unadjusted goods imports were €11.2 billion, which was €1.8 billion higher than imports in January 2022.

  • Seasonally adjusted goods exports were €15.8 billion in January 2023, down more than €900 million compared with December 2022.

  • Seasonally adjusted goods imports were €12.3 billion in January 2023.

  • Imports from Great Britain were €2.4 billion in January 2023, while exports to Great Britain were €1.3 billion.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (16 March 2023) released Goods Exports and Imports January 2023.

Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division said: “In January 2023, Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods decreased by more than €600 million to €15.5 billion compared with January 2022. When seasonally adjusted, exports of goods fell by more than €900 million when compared with December 2022.

The unadjusted imports for January 2023 were valued at €11.2 billion, a growth of €1.8 billion on January 2022. Seasonally adjusted imports were €12.3 billion in January 2022.

Imports from Great Britain grew by 33% to €2.4 billion in January 2023 compared with January 2022. The largest increase was in the imports of Mineral Fuels & Lubricants. Exports to Great Britain fell by 5% to €1.3 billion in January 2023 compared with January 2022.”

Headline Table

Table A Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted €million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
December 202216,69711,6605,038
January 202315,79112,3433,448
Value change-906683-1,590
% change-5.45.9-31.6

Seasonally adjusted goods trade exports decreased by €906 million in January 2023

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €906 million (-5%) to €15,791 million in January 2023 compared with December 2022, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €683 million (+6%) to €12,343 million leading to a fall of €1,590 million (-32%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €3,448 million in January 2023 compared with December 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 January 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
UnadjustedJanuary 2022 - January 2023
 20222023Value change% change
ExportsTotal16,06715,454-613-4
 Great Britain1,4061,336-70-5
 Northern Ireland342372309
 EU276,2776,8485719
 USA5,2453,982-1,263-24
 Rest of World2,7972,9161194
      
ImportsTotal9,36411,2091,84420
 Great Britain1,8092,40559633
 Northern Ireland32243211034
 EU272,6562,93628011
 USA1,3171,67936228
 Rest of World3,2613,75749615

Exports and imports by region

The (unadjusted) value of goods exports fell by €613 million (-4%) to €15,454 million in January 2023 compared with January 2022.

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports grew by €1,844 million (+20%) to €11,209 million in January 2023 compared with January 2022.

Exports to Great Britain were €1,336 million, which was 9% of total exports in January 2023. The products accounting for the largest share of exports were Chemicals & Related Products, at €513 million and Food & Live Animals at €303 million.

Imports from Great Britain in January 2023 were €2,405 million, which was 21% of the total value of imports. Imports of Mineral Fuels & Lubricants accounted for €1,165 million, and imports of Chemicals & Related Products were valued at €392 million (See Table 5).

The EU accounted for €6,848 million (44%) of total goods exports in January 2023, of which €2,271 million went to Germany, €1,412 million went to Belgium, and, €1,157 million went to the Netherlands.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €3,982 million (26%) of total exports in January 2023. (See Table 4).

X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
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
Jan 20236.8482.9161.7083.982
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
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
Jan 20232.9363.7572.8371.679

Exports by product

Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products decreased by €959 million (-14%) to €6,148 million in January 2023 compared with January 2022. This represented 40% of total exports.

Exports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances fell by €434 million (-39%) to €674 million.

Exports of Professional, Scientific & Controlling Apparatus grew by €107 million (+16%) to €794 million.

Exports of Food & Live Animals were up by €144 million (+17%) to €1,002 million in January 2023 compared with January 2022 (See Table 3).

Figure 4 Exports by product January 2022 - January 2023

Imports by product

Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related products increased by €671 million (+75%) to €1,568 million in January 2023 compared with January 2022.

Imports of Machinery Specialised for Particular Industries grew by €241 million (+137%) to €417 million.

Imports of Organic Chemicals rose by €486 million (+49%) to €1,480 million.

Imports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products increased by €259 million (+36%) to €984 million.

The value of goods imports for January 2023 excluding SITC 79 (Other Transport Equipment, Including Aircraft were up by €2,082 million (+24%) to €10,634 million, compared with the corresponding January 2022 figure of €8,552 million (See Table 3).

Figure 5 Imports by product January 2022 - January 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