Unadjusted goods exports were €16.5 billion in November 2023, a decrease of almost €600 million on November 2022.
Unadjusted goods imports were €12.4 billion, which was €239 million more than imports in November 2022.
Seasonally adjusted goods exports were €15.8 billion in November 2023, down €2 billion when compared with the previous month.
Seasonally adjusted goods imports were €11.7 billion in November 2023, up €1 billion when compared with October 2023.
Exports to Great Britain were €1.7 billion in November 2023, while imports from Great Britain were €1.5 billion.
| Table A Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted | €million | ||
| Exports | Imports | Surplus | |
| October 2023 | 17,747 | 10,652 | 7,095 |
| November 2023 | 15,776 | 11,660 | 4,116 |
| Value change | -1,970 | 1,008 | -2,978 |
| % change | -11.1 | 9.5 | -42.0 |
Seasonally adjusted goods exports fell by €1,970 million (-11%) to €15,776 million in November 2023 compared with October 2023, according to preliminary figures.
Seasonally adjusted goods imports grew by €1,008 million (+9%) to €11,660 million leading to a decrease of €2,978 million (-42%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,116 million in November 2023 compared with October 2023 (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 | November 2022 - 2023 | January - November 2022 - 2023 | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2023 | Value change | % change | 2022 | 2023 | Value change | % change | |||
| Exports | ||||||||||
| Total | 17,131 | 16,543 | -588 | -3 | 193,459 | 183,199 | -10,260 | -5 | ||
| Great Britain | 1,577 | 1,757 | 180 | 11 | 16,029 | 16,753 | 724 | 5 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 446 | 445 | -1 | 0 | 4,572 | 4,555 | -17 | 0 | ||
| EU27 | 6,887 | 6,868 | -19 | 0 | 74,545 | 76,094 | 1,549 | 2 | ||
| USA | 5,033 | 4,067 | -966 | -19 | 58,713 | 50,012 | -8,701 | -15 | ||
| Rest of World | 3,188 | 3,407 | 219 | 7 | 39,600 | 35,784 | -3,816 | -10 | ||
| Imports | ||||||||||
| Total | 12,128 | 12,367 | 239 | 2 | 128,437 | 125,402 | -3,035 | -2 | ||
| Great Britain | 2,032 | 1,519 | -513 | -25 | 22,249 | 19,829 | -2,421 | -11 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 438 | 659 | 221 | 50 | 4,816 | 4,904 | 87 | 2 | ||
| EU27 | 4,018 | 3,825 | -193 | -5 | 38,095 | 42,166 | 4,071 | 11 | ||
| USA | 1,826 | 2,041 | 216 | 12 | 20,509 | 19,543 | -967 | -5 | ||
| Rest of World | 3,814 | 4,324 | 509 | 13 | 42,767 | 38,960 | -3,807 | -9 | ||
The (unadjusted) value of goods exports decreased by €588 million (-3%) to €16,543 million in November 2023 compared with November 2022. The value of goods exports for the period January to November 2023 was down by €10,260 million (-5%) to €183,199 million, when compared with the same period of 2022.
The (unadjusted) value of goods imports increased by €239 million (+2%) to €12,367 million in November 2023 compared with November 2022. The value of goods imports for the first eleven months of 2023 decreased by €3,035 million (-2%) to €125,402 million, when compared with the same period of 2022.
Exports to Great Britain were €1,757 million, which was 11% of total exports in November 2023. The products which accounted for the largest share of exports were Chemicals & Related Products with €775 million, and Food & Live Animals with €377 million. Exports to Great Britain for January to November 2023 increased by €724 million (+5%) to €16,753 million when compared with the first eleven months of 2022.
Imports from Great Britain in November 2023 were €1,519 million, which was 12% of the total value of imports. Imports of Machinery & Transport Equipment accounted for €332 million, imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials were valued at €271 million and imports of Chemicals & Related Products were €242 million. Imports from Great Britain in the first eleven months of 2023 decreased by €2,421 million (-11%) to €19,829 million (See Table 5).
The EU accounted for €6,868 million (42%) of total goods exports in November 2023, of which €2,111 million went to Germany, €1,312 million went to the Netherlands and €1,280 million went to Belgium.
The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,067 million (25%) of total exports in November 2023 (See Table 4).
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | 6.27284031153645 | 2.796754711 | 1.7511570091017 | 5.244730516 |
| Feb 2022 | 6.30266338054554 | 3.34921348 | 1.39027186944102 | 4.825347098 |
| 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 | 6.96595446679979 | 3.53883352100002 | 2.0549038286479 | 4.093418994 |
| Jun 2023 | 6.65948844772672 | 3.244981578 | 2.73913948782134 | 5.694475768 |
| Jul 2023 | 6.56423718753898 | 2.92379787700001 | 2.2622586395755 | 4.051062666 |
| Aug 2023 | 6.16171303872621 | 3.196161201 | 1.7155097587286 | 5.107306858 |
| Sep 2023 | 7.08986143398138 | 2.987962531 | 1.60411600701267 | 4.33656717 |
| Oct 2023 | 7.60752099262603 | 3.426367506 | 1.63051131012241 | 4.878499338 |
| Nov 2023 | 6.8683706636658 | 3.4069892 | 2.20139548044582 | 4.066587508 |
| X-axis label | EU 27 | Rest of World | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | 2.63674905237381 | 3.26110862417221 | 2.14244990593779 | 1.31652224622383 |
| Feb 2022 | 2.79170509949076 | 2.90574911702911 | 1.9362272411329 | 1.43438147581768 |
| 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 | 4.33019465996712 | 4.27285120643109 | 1.93268875616637 | 1.84803210288846 |
| Jun 2023 | 4.79911995219219 | 3.41034564574952 | 2.14872020491104 | 2.07044587919023 |
| Jul 2023 | 3.8319216905229 | 3.489147390284 | 2.08501880770258 | 1.4407314433814 |
| Aug 2023 | 3.03482120751397 | 3.18939540963543 | 2.28112259396132 | 1.38263483011316 |
| Sep 2023 | 3.42098773414742 | 3.38908147191301 | 2.21339077622132 | 2.18533284529302 |
| Oct 2023 | 3.51513519984257 | 3.62341411589095 | 1.97149868038394 | 1.80989551469966 |
| Nov 2023 | 3.82495659182496 | 4.32358537823965 | 2.17744000680464 | 2.04145584938115 |
Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products increased by €123 million (+2%) to €6,936 million in November 2023 compared with November 2022. This represented 42% of total exports.
Exports of Organic Chemicals decreased by €572 million (-25%) to €1,718 million.
Exports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances fell by €300 million (-28%) to €756 million. (See Table 3).
Imports of Organic Chemicals increased by €1,413 million (+196%) to €2,135 million in November 2023 compared with November 2022.
Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials decreased by €314 million (-30%) to €718 million.
Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft fell by €496 million (-30%) to €1,151 million.
Imports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances fell by €159 million (-16%) to €818 million. (See Table 3).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (15 January 2024) released Goods Exports and Imports November 2023.
Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division said: “In November 2023, Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods decreased by almost €600 million to €16.5 billion when compared with November 2022. Seasonally adjusted exports were €15.8 billion in November 2023.
The unadjusted imports for November 2023 were valued at €12.4 billion, an increase of €239 million on November 2022. When seasonally adjusted, imports of goods rose by €1 billion when compared with October 2023.
Comparing the first 11 months of 2023 with the same period in 2022, exports of goods were down 5%, and the value of imports fell by 2%. Exports for the first 11 months of 2023 were €183 billion.
Exports to Great Britain grew by 11% to €1.7 billion in November 2023 when compared with November 2022, and the largest increase of 36% was in the export of Chemicals & Related Products.
Imports from Great Britain fell by 25% to €1.5 billion in November 2023 when compared with November 2022, and the largest drop was in the import of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials which were down by 56%.”