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Unadjusted goods exports were €53.2 billion in Quarter 1 (Q1) 2024, an increase of €2.3 billion when compared with the same period last year.
Unadjusted goods imports were €31.2 billion, which was more than €3.3 billion lower than imports in Q1 2023.
Seasonally adjusted goods exports were €17.6 billion in March 2024, while seasonally adjusted goods imports were €11.1 billion.
Imports from Great Britain were €4.2 billion in Q1 2024, while exports to Great Britain were €4.4 billion.
| Table A Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted | €million | ||
| Exports | Imports | Surplus | |
| February 2024 | 17,616 | 10,521 | 7,095 |
| March 2024 | 17,563 | 11,069 | 6,494 |
| Value change | -53 | 549 | -602 |
| % change | -0.3 | 5.2 | -8.5 |
Seasonally adjusted goods exports fell by €53 million (-0.3%) to €17,563 million in March 2024 compared with February 2024, according to preliminary figures.
Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €549 million (+5%) to €11,069 million leading to a decrease of €601 million (-8%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €6,494 million in March 2024 compared with February 2024 (See Table 2). Seasonal adjustment compares month-to-month data by removing fluctuations that may occur due to seasonal patterns in trade.
| Table B Share of Goods Exports and Imports by region | €million | |||||||||
| Unadjusted | March 2023 - 2024 | January - March 2023 - 2024 | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | Value change | % change | 2023 | 2024 | Value change | % change | |||
| Exports | ||||||||||
| Total | 18,738 | 18,494 | -244 | -1 | 50,949 | 53,239 | 2,290 | 4 | ||
| Great Britain | 1,687 | 1,731 | 44 | 3 | 4,297 | 4,445 | 148 | 3 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 437 | 432 | -5 | -1 | 1,218 | 1,229 | 11 | 1 | ||
| EU27 | 7,228 | 6,910 | -318 | -4 | 21,659 | 21,117 | -542 | -3 | ||
| USA | 5,619 | 5,226 | -393 | -7 | 13,629 | 15,933 | 2,304 | 17 | ||
| Rest of World | 3,767 | 4,195 | 428 | 11 | 10,146 | 10,516 | 370 | 4 | ||
| Imports | ||||||||||
| Total | 11,886 | 11,643 | -243 | -2 | 34,550 | 31,185 | -3,365 | -10 | ||
| Great Britain | 1,683 | 1,508 | -175 | -10 | 6,335 | 4,176 | -2,159 | -34 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 466 | 387 | -79 | -17 | 1,295 | 1,312 | 16 | 1 | ||
| EU27 | 5,174 | 4,860 | -314 | -6 | 11,766 | 11,933 | 167 | 1 | ||
| USA | 1,853 | 2,024 | 171 | 9 | 5,354 | 4,945 | -408 | -8 | ||
| Rest of World | 2,710 | 2,865 | 155 | 6 | 9,800 | 8,819 | -980 | -10 | ||
The (unadjusted) value of goods exports fell by €244 million (-1%) to €18,494 million in March 2024 compared with March 2023. The value of goods exports for the period January to March 2024 grew by €2,290 million (+4%) to €53,239 million, when compared with the same period of 2023.
The (unadjusted) value of goods imports decreased by €243 million (-2%) to €11,643 million in March 2024 compared with March 2023. The value of goods imports for the first three months of 2024 fell by €3,365 million (-10%) to €31,185 million, when compared with the same period of 2023.
Exports to Great Britain were €1,731 million, which was 9% of total exports in March 2024. The products which accounted for the largest share of exports were Chemicals & Related Products at €739 million and Food & Live Animals with €341 million.
Imports from Great Britain in March 2024 were €1,508 million, which was 13% of the total value of imports. Imports of Chemicals & Related Products accounted for €400 million, imports of Machinery & Transport Equipment were €283 million and imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Products were valued at €217 million. (See Table 5).
The EU accounted for €6,910 million (37%) of total goods exports in March 2024, of which €1,873 million went to Germany, €1,836 million went to Belgium and €1,163 million went to the Netherlands.
The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €5,226 million (28%) of total exports in March 2024 (See Table 4).
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | 7.03146794756404 | 4.00169138399999 | 1.83317511357736 | 7.400502251 |
| Apr 2022 | 6.42002674605994 | 3.360673459 | 1.93709378628622 | 5.490089082 |
| May 2022 | 6.2983702194085 | 4.39532270599999 | 1.83022262751538 | 5.390377409 |
| Jun 2022 | 6.34773818352154 | 3.868853871 | 2.40887348009257 | 5.086599753 |
| Jul 2022 | 6.252539648654 | 3.33823685399999 | 1.57029484440219 | 3.745679746 |
| Aug 2022 | 8.5505963467939 | 3.623791805 | 1.92626849533277 | 5.286338789 |
| Sep 2022 | 7.59441998675093 | 4.085435417 | 1.84991809025405 | 5.904198153 |
| Oct 2022 | 6.58696172223077 | 3.591441143 | 2.08060789733065 | 5.306523683 |
| Nov 2022 | 6.88716979415636 | 3.18847492199999 | 2.0230150332706 | 5.032571309 |
| Dec 2022 | 5.99495427339276 | 3.109313866 | 1.59205177242982 | 4.433765332 |
| Jan 2023 | 7.00166929718193 | 2.92517220399999 | 1.7209164793019 | 3.849700567 |
| Feb 2023 | 7.42978453362456 | 3.45412363200001 | 1.66987909018109 | 4.160032732 |
| Mar 2023 | 7.22757806925556 | 3.76719638199999 | 2.12421141690795 | 5.6191061 |
| Apr 2023 | 6.51781193049492 | 2.91226385300001 | 1.58551572378062 | 4.155685568 |
| May 2023 | 6.93597110225951 | 3.53304737500002 | 2.06231359049922 | 4.093419028 |
| Jun 2023 | 6.73918999299196 | 3.238329714 | 2.74841906843818 | 5.694475768 |
| Jul 2023 | 6.5714152812016 | 2.83526778300001 | 2.18257702962032 | 4.033586402 |
| Aug 2023 | 6.15102668919328 | 3.116574302 | 1.69275244089181 | 5.048801198 |
| Sep 2023 | 7.14956162110466 | 2.903643321 | 1.56388291768298 | 4.236656503 |
| Oct 2023 | 7.60752099262603 | 3.426367506 | 1.63051131012241 | 4.878499338 |
| Nov 2023 | 6.80117674795935 | 3.423425428 | 2.18914185748906 | 4.193145893 |
| Dec 2023 | 5.11607332988393 | 3.085495526 | 1.24759361678862 | 4.284592452 |
| Jan 2024 | 7.09661644501684 | 3.35165294603999 | 1.9026045013976 | 6.460237898 |
| Feb 2024 | 7.11029484122663 | 2.96932814803 | 1.60763048620626 | 4.246990123 |
| Mar 2024 | 6.9096987261188 | 4.19503537196999 | 2.16350531615654 | 5.22588082 |
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | 3.14827285263081 | 4.14074180141705 | 2.38788087199404 | 2.33093602471201 |
| Apr 2022 | 3.50820880534995 | 3.47566700004536 | 2.42535617848881 | 1.87450129891659 |
| May 2022 | 3.63431123344235 | 5.04974529734677 | 2.39913877867239 | 2.18781775376064 |
| Jun 2022 | 3.70567560725347 | 4.64475699263232 | 2.60061488293834 | 1.87929043009657 |
| Jul 2022 | 3.13287526703743 | 3.97767827704352 | 2.28953937000186 | 1.30211393590302 |
| Aug 2022 | 3.22470655490728 | 4.42266596614623 | 2.71722647683728 | 2.10920545319726 |
| Sep 2022 | 4.18791765441382 | 3.65020618602282 | 2.51928762735894 | 2.44974277170222 |
| Oct 2022 | 4.10630401530525 | 3.42453851520585 | 3.17778865553939 | 1.79897633135657 |
| Nov 2022 | 4.01826956910247 | 3.81420263511006 | 2.46985495786996 | 1.82583888094956 |
| Dec 2022 | 4.53533522838145 | 3.87919934498645 | 2.35469298147492 | 1.80623668992089 |
| Jan 2023 | 2.88128591209521 | 3.85484855996731 | 2.95404147862947 | 1.81484609051063 |
| Feb 2023 | 3.71055878151335 | 3.23485258166375 | 2.52779149987961 | 1.68600377733813 |
| Mar 2023 | 5.17418205576562 | 2.70981209370352 | 2.14894222506542 | 1.85297748577796 |
| Apr 2023 | 3.64331353534981 | 3.46314868868828 | 2.29139474153317 | 1.41027558021653 |
| May 2023 | 4.45428760942382 | 4.27891724580067 | 1.94938450868741 | 1.84648065909634 |
| Jun 2023 | 5.01171830946167 | 3.42564837046959 | 2.16076601350301 | 2.07012732566615 |
| Jul 2023 | 3.72106131619383 | 3.50939695008623 | 2.07422831521297 | 1.53445947815736 |
| Aug 2023 | 3.1774585764123 | 3.19502890739246 | 2.27015848479361 | 1.711615391636 |
| Sep 2023 | 3.49311174421978 | 3.37637485178669 | 2.21358388032007 | 2.18532103342391 |
| Oct 2023 | 3.51513519984257 | 3.62341411589095 | 1.97149868038394 | 1.80989551469966 |
| Nov 2023 | 4.60451731456051 | 4.32791693574278 | 2.1715636533203 | 3.03248267422309 |
| Dec 2023 | 4.53561613849351 | 3.40790853346218 | 1.50254254362204 | 2.30643603199226 |
| Jan 2024 | 3.19665823535661 | 3.19064155061769 | 1.65948123764835 | 1.37221136404805 |
| Feb 2024 | 3.87632797309683 | 2.76377049699188 | 1.93340493408447 | 1.54969839575143 |
| Mar 2024 | 4.85991009814989 | 2.86465169571 | 1.89493335489715 | 2.0235308561351 |
Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products decreased by €268 million (-4%) to €6,944 million in March 2024 compared with March 2023. This represented 38% of total exports.
Exports of Organic Chemicals grew by €41 million (+1%) to €3,353 million.
Exports of Professional, Scientific & Controlling Apparatus decreased by €33 million (-3%) to €938 million. (See Table 3).
Imports of Organic Chemicals were down by €727 million (-41%) to €1,052 million in March 2024 compared with March 2023.
Imports of Electrical Machinery, apparatus & appliances decreased by €146 million (-18%) to €686 million.
Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Products decreased by €231 million (-26%) to €668 million.
Imports of Office Machines & Automatic Data Processing Machines increased by €144 million (+47%) to €452 million.
The value of goods imports for March 2024 excluding SITC 79 (Other Transport Equipment, Including Aircraft) fell by €264 million (-3%) to €9,777 million, compared with the corresponding March 2023 figure of €10,041 million (See Table 3).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (16 May 2024) released Goods Exports and Imports March 2024.
Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division said: “In the first quarter of 2024, Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods increased by €2.3 billion to €53.2 billion compared with Q1 2023.
Seasonally adjusted exports of goods were €17.6 billion in March 2024, virtually unchanged when compared with February 2024.
The unadjusted imports for January, February, and March (Q1) 2024 were valued at €31.2 billion, down €3.4 billion on Q1 2023. Seasonally adjusted imports were €11.1 billion in March 2024.
Comparing March 2024 with the same month in 2023, exports of goods were 1% lower, and the value of imports decreased by 2%.
Imports from Great Britain fell by 34% to €4.2 billion in Q1 2024 compared with the same period of 2023, and the largest decreases were in the imports of Chemicals & Related products and Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Products.
Exports to Great Britain rose by 3% to €4.4 billion in Q1 2024 from Q1 2023.”