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Goods Exports and Imports September 2023

Exports of goods were €16 billion in September 2023

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

Key Findings

  • Unadjusted goods exports were €16 billion in September 2023, a decrease of €3.5 billion when compared with September last year.

  • Unadjusted goods imports were €11 billion, which was €1.8 billion less than imports in September 2022.

  • Seasonally adjusted goods exports were €15.6 billion in September 2023.

  • Seasonally adjusted goods imports were €11.4 billion in September 2023, up €700 million compared with August 2023.

  • Exports to Great Britain were €1.2 billion in September 2023, while imports from Great Britain were €1.8 billion.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (15 November 2023) released Goods Exports and Imports September 2023. Commenting on this release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division said: “In September 2023, Ireland’s unadjusted exports of goods decreased by €3.5 billion to €16 billion when compared with September 2022. Seasonally adjusted exports were €15.6 billion in September 2023.

The unadjusted imports for September 2023 were valued at €11 billion, a fall of €1.8 billion on September 2022. When seasonally adjusted, imports of goods increased by €700 million when compared with August 2023.

Comparing the first nine months of 2023 with the same period in 2022, exports of goods were down 6%, and the value of imports declined by 2%.  Exports for the first nine months of 2023 were €149 billion. 

Imports from Great Britain fell by 11% to €1.8 billion in September 2023 when compared with September 2022, while the largest drop was in the imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials which were down by 72%.

Exports to Great Britain fell by 16% to €1.2 billion in September 2023 when compared with September 2022, and the largest decrease of 46% was in the exports of Chemicals & Related Products.”

Headline Table

Table A Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted €million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
August 202316,57010,6665,904
September 202315,58411,3714,213
Value change-987704-1,691
% change-6.06.6-29.0

Seasonally adjusted goods trade exports decreased by €1 billion in September 2023

Seasonally adjusted goods exports fell by €987 million (-6%) to €15,584 million in September 2023 compared with August 2023, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports grew by €704 million (+7%) to €11,371 million leading to a decrease of €1,691 million (-29%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,213 million in September 2023 compared with August 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 September 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
UnadjustedSeptember 2022 - 2023 January - September 2022 - 2023
20222023Value change% change 20222023Value change% change
Exports         
Total19,43415,974-3,460-18 158,762149,012-9,749-6
Great Britain1,3871,168-219-16 12,81813,8441,0278
Northern Ireland463434-29-6 3,6803,624-56-2
EU277,5947,061-533-7 61,07161,5404701
USA5,9044,337-1,568-27 48,37441,067-7,307-15
Rest of World4,0852,974-1,111-27 32,82028,937-3,883-12
         
Imports         
Total12,80710,993-1,815-14 103,801101,834-1,967-2
Great Britain2,0201,798-221-11 17,44216,762-680-4
Northern Ireland500360-140-28 3,9753,757-218-5
EU274,1883,320-868-21 29,97034,6554,68416
USA2,4502,155-295-12 16,88515,661-1,224-7
 Rest of World3,6503,360-290-8 35,52830,999-4,529-13

Exports and imports by region

The (unadjusted) value of goods exports fell by €3,460 million (-18%) to €15,974 million in September 2023 compared with September 2022. The value of goods exports for the period January to September 2023 was down by €9,749 million (-6%) to €149,012 million, when compared with the same period of 2022.

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports decreased by €1,815 million (-14%) to €10,993 million in September 2023 compared with September 2022. The value of goods imports for the first three quarters of 2023 decreased by €1,967 million (-2%) to €101,834 million, when compared with the same period of 2022.

Exports to Great Britain were €1,168 million, which was 7% of total exports in September 2023. The products which accounted for the largest share of exports were Food & Live Animals with €412 million, Machinery & Transport Equipment with €224 million and Chemicals & Related Products at €222 million. Exports to Great Britain for January to September 2023 increased by €1,027 million (+8%) to €13,844 million when compared with the first nine months of 2022.

Imports from Great Britain in September 2023 were €1,798 million, which was 16% of the total value of imports. Imports of Chemicals & Related Products accounted for €707 million, Machinery & Transport Equipment at €261 million and imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials were valued at €208 million. Imports from Great Britain in the first nine months of 2023 decreased by €680 million (-4%) to €16,762 million (See Table 5).

The EU accounted for €7,061 million (44%) of total goods exports in September 2023, of which €1,848 million went to Belgium, €1,664 million went to Germany and €1,596 million went to the Netherlands.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,337 million (27%) of total exports in September 2023 (See Table 4).

X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
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 20226.347738183521543.8688538712.408873480092575.086599753
Jul 20226.2525396486543.338236853999991.570294844402193.745679746
Aug 20228.55059634679393.6237918051.926268495332775.286338789
Sep 20227.594419986750934.0854354171.849918090254055.904198153
Oct 20226.586961722230773.5914411432.080607897330655.306523683
Nov 20226.887169794156363.188474921999992.02301503327065.032571309
Dec 20225.994954273392763.1093138661.592051772429824.433765332
Jan 20237.001669297181932.925172203999991.72091647930193.849700567
Feb 20237.429784533624563.454123632000011.669879090181094.160032732
Mar 20237.227578069255563.767196381999992.124211416907955.6191061
Apr 20236.468667996591072.912263246000011.579523806256694.155685568
May 20236.965954466799793.538833521000022.05490382864794.093418994
Jun 20236.659488447726723.2449815782.739139487821345.694475768
Jul 20236.564237187538982.923797877000012.26225863957554.051062666
Aug 20236.161713038726213.1961612011.71550975872865.107306858
Sep 20237.061077001414722.9740827211.601840495149784.336556935
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
Jan 20222.636749052373813.261108624172212.142449905937791.31652224622383
Feb 20222.791705099490762.905749117029111.93622724113291.43438147581768
Mar 20223.148272852630814.140741801417052.387880871994042.33093602471201
Apr 20223.508208805349953.475667000045362.425356178488811.87450129891659
May 20223.634311233442355.049745297346772.399138778672392.18781775376064
Jun 20223.705675607253474.644756992632322.600614882938341.87929043009657
Jul 20223.132875267037433.977678277043522.289539370001861.30211393590302
Aug 20223.224706554907284.422665966146232.717226476837282.10920545319726
Sep 20224.187917654413823.650206186022822.519287627358942.44974277170222
Oct 20224.106304015305253.424538515205853.177788655539391.79897633135657
Nov 20224.018269569102473.814202635110062.469854957869961.82583888094956
Dec 20224.535335228381453.879199344986452.354692981474921.80623668992089
Jan 20232.881285912095213.854848559967312.954041478629471.81484609051063
Feb 20233.710558781513353.234852581663752.527791499879611.68600377733813
Mar 20235.174182055765622.709812093703522.148942225065421.85297748577796
Apr 20233.572743709081883.477764760608662.283423888821951.41059475798498
May 20234.330194659967124.272851206431091.932688756166371.84803210288846
Jun 20234.799119952192193.410345645749522.148720204911042.07044587919023
Jul 20233.83192169052293.4891473902842.085018807702581.4407314433814
Aug 20233.034821207513973.189395409635432.281122593961321.38263483011316
Sep 20233.31979284274513.359735851807652.157946763892322.15504664975172

Exports by product

Exports of Organic Chemicals decreased by €1,578 million (-37%) to €2,652 million in September 2023 compared with September 2022.

Exports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances fell by €603 million (-45%) to €723 million.

Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products declined by €558 million (-9%) to €5,994 million (See Table 3). This represented 38% of total exports.

Figure 4 Exports by product September 2022 - September 2023

Imports by product

Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants & Related Materials decreased by €752 million (-56%) to €597 million.

Imports of Other Transport Equipment, including Aircraft fell by €412 million (-20%) to €1,701 million.

Imports of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus & Appliances fell by €179 million (-20%) to €717 million.

Imports of Organic Chemicals increased by €81 million (+6%) to €1,530 million in September 2023 compared with September 2022. (See Table 3).

Figure 5 Imports by product September 2022 - September 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