Ireland’s trade balance at €46.6bn, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, fell by €8.6bn in the first quarter of 2024 over the same period in 2023, mainly due to a decrease in contract manufacturing exports.
| Goods | of which International Trade | |
| Q4 2021 | 73.712 | 43.636 |
| Q1 2022 | 78.365 | 52.203 |
| Q2 2022 | 85.341 | 52.868 |
| Q3 2022 | 94.971 | 53.698 |
| Q4 2022 | 95.752 | 49.68 |
| Q1 2023 | 88.977 | 50.868 |
| Q2 2023 | 76.365 | 51.32 |
| Q3 2023 | 71.871 | 47.956 |
| Q4 2023 | 71.98 | 48.083 |
| Q1 2024 | 75.526 | 53.239 |
Merchandise exports were €75.5bn in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of €13.5bn compared with the same quarter of 2023.
| Goods | of which International Trade | |
| Q4 2021 | 32.369 | 29.261 |
| Q1 2022 | 32.104 | 29.222 |
| Q2 2022 | 37.404 | 35.813 |
| Q3 2022 | 41.387 | 38.162 |
| Q4 2022 | 41.251 | 35.621 |
| Q1 2023 | 32.984 | 32.11 |
| Q2 2023 | 37.885 | 34.074 |
| Q3 2023 | 34.455 | 30.455 |
| Q4 2023 | 42.2 | 35.462 |
| Q1 2024 | 36.711 | 29.905 |
Merchandise imports were €36.7bn in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of €3.7bn compared with the same period in 2023.
| Q1 2024 | Q1 2023 | |
| Computer Services | 61.056 | 49.636 |
| Business Services | 18.344 | 13.761 |
| Financial Services | 6.684 | 5.244 |
| Other Services n.e.s | 5.976 | 3.181 |
| Insurance | 3.713 | 3.928 |
| Royalties/Licences | 3.664 | 3.779 |
| Transport | 1.83 | 1.634 |
| Tourism and Travel | 1.37 | 1.283 |
| Repairs and Processing | 0.214 | 0.711 |
| Communications | 0.036 | 0.038 |
Service exports, at €102.9bn, increased by €19.7bn compared to the first quarter of 2023, mainly due to higher computer services exports (which increased by €11.4bn).
| Q1 2024 | Q1 2023 | |
| Royalties/Licences | 37.071 | 37.081 |
| Business Services | 32.856 | 29.716 |
| Financial Services | 5.887 | 4.598 |
| Other Services n.e.s | 4.898 | 0.559 |
| Computer Services | 4.213 | 2.16 |
| Insurance | 3.481 | 3.536 |
| Tourism and Travel | 2.79 | 1.781 |
| Repairs and Processing | 2.334 | 3.213 |
| Transport | 1.413 | 1.218 |
| Communications | 0.196 | 0.158 |
Service imports, at €95.1bn, were up €11.1bn compared to the first quarter of 2023, due to increased business, computer and other services imports.
| Royalties/Licences Exports | of which Pharmaceutical | of which Information and Communication | |
| Q4 2021 | 5.097 | 0.058 | 3.243 |
| Q1 2022 | 3.458 | 0.063 | 2.333 |
| Q2 2022 | 3.494 | 0.069 | 1.905 |
| Q3 2022 | 3.033 | 0.038 | 0 |
| Q4 2022 | 4.143 | 0.056 | 0 |
| Q1 2023 | 3.779 | 0.042 | 1.103 |
| Q2 2023 | 3.068 | 0.085 | 1.193 |
| Q3 2023 | 3.298 | 0.028 | 1.154 |
| Q4 2023 | 4.088 | 0.11 | 0 |
| Q1 2024 | 3.664 | 0.096 | 0.921 |
| Royalties/Licences Imports | of which Pharmaceutical | of which Information and Communication | |
| Q4 2021 | 36.366 | 6.856 | 0 |
| Q1 2022 | 29.032 | 3.969 | 0 |
| Q2 2022 | 32.601 | 7.859 | 0 |
| Q3 2022 | 32.891 | 7.823 | 0 |
| Q4 2022 | 41.424 | 11.288 | 0 |
| Q1 2023 | 37.081 | 6.063 | 0 |
| Q2 2023 | 30.468 | 6.685 | 0 |
| Q3 2023 | 33.027 | 4.412 | 0 |
| Q4 2023 | 40.515 | 7.851 | 0 |
| Q1 2024 | 37.071 | 4.919 | 0 |
Please note: The figures for royalties/licences imports of which information and communication are suppressed due to confidentiality requirements.
Royalties/licences imports were €37.1bn in the first quarter of 2024, unchanged on the same period in 2023.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.