This chapter contains information on Ireland's Goods Exports and Imports statistics which provide data on the movement of goods between countries. The statistics are a combination of Customs-based non-EU trade statistics and data from the Intrastat survey of Irish traders involved in trade with other EU member states.
| 17.1 Goods Exports and Imports summary analysis | |||||
| Year | Value | Volume index | |||
| (base year 2010=100) | |||||
| Trade | |||||
| Exports | Imports | surplus | Exports | Imports | |
| €m | €m | €m | |||
| 1975 | 1,838 | 2,164 | -326 | 5.7 | 13.6 |
| 1976 | 2,361 | 2,969 | -608 | 5.9 | 15.7 |
| 1977 | 3,197 | 3,925 | -727 | 7.0 | 17.8 |
| 1978 | 3,762 | 4,715 | -952 | 7.7 | 20.3 |
| 1979 | 4,416 | 6,130 | -1,714 | 8.3 | 23.3 |
| 1980 | 5,184 | 6,883 | -1,699 | 9.0 | 22.2 |
| 1981 | 6,066 | 8,353 | -2,287 | 9.0 | 22.6 |
| 1982 | 7,227 | 8,655 | -1,428 | 9.7 | 21.9 |
| 1983 | 8,817 | 9,354 | -537 | 10.9 | 22.6 |
| 1984 | 11,297 | 11,316 | -19 | 12.9 | 24.9 |
| 1985 | 12,371 | 11,971 | 400 | 13.7 | 25.7 |
| 1986 | 11,903 | 10,947 | 956 | 14.2 | 26.5 |
| 1987 | 13,616 | 11,625 | 1,991 | 16.3 | 28.1 |
| 1988 | 15,624 | 12,970 | 2,654 | 17.4 | 29.5 |
| 1989 | 18,534 | 15,598 | 2,937 | 19.4 | 33.3 |
| 1990 | 18,204 | 15,832 | 2,372 | 21.0 | 35.6 |
| 1991 | 19,070 | 16,317 | 2,753 | 22.2 | 35.8 |
| 1992 | 21,260 | 16,754 | 4,506 | 25.4 | 37.6 |
| 1993 | 25,179 | 18,900 | 6,279 | 28.0 | 40.3 |
| 1994 | 28,891 | 21,945 | 6,946 | 32.1 | 45.6 |
| 1995 | 35,330 | 26,181 | 9,149 | 38.6 | 52.2 |
| 1996 | 38,609 | 28,479 | 10,130 | 42.4 | 57.4 |
| 1997 | 44,868 | 32,863 | 12,004 | 48.8 | 65.9 |
| 1998 | 57,322 | 39,715 | 17,607 | 60.7 | 77.9 |
| 1999 | 66,956 | 44,327 | 22,629 | 70.6 | 84.4 |
| 2000 | 83,986 | 54,960 | 29,026 | 86.7 | 107.8 |
| 2001 | 92,730 | 56,455 | 36,275 | 104.6 | 116.0 |
| 2002 | 94,059 | 55,106 | 38,953 | 110.7 | 122.0 |
| 2003 | 82,585 | 48,515 | 34,070 | 99.2 | 112.6 |
| 2004 | 84,949 | 51,557 | 33,392 | 101.9 | 108.7 |
| 2005 | 87,173 | 58,463 | 28,710 | 101.3 | 125.7 |
| 2006 | 87,497 | 63,833 | 23,664 | 99.4 | 132.4 |
| 2007 | 90,580 | 65,939 | 24,640 | 102.9 | 141.8 |
| 2008 | 88,503 | 59,336 | 29,168 | 93.2 | 126.8 |
| 2009 | 87,586 | 48,203 | 39,382 | 103.5 | 108.3 |
| 2010 | 90,924 | 48,695 | 42,229 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 2011 | 93,191 | 53,035 | 40,155 | 106.1 | 110.4 |
| 2012 | 93,507 | 56,179 | 37,328 | 100.6 | 120.2 |
| 2013 | 89,182 | 55,787 | 33,394 | 101.1 | 123.5 |
| 2014 | 92,616 | 62,158 | 30,458 | 103.8 | 130.1 |
| 2015 | 112,407 | 70,111 | 42,296 | 115.5 | 143.6 |
| 2016 | 117,608 | 72,087 | 45,521 | n/a | n/a |
| Source: CSO | |||||
Between 1975 and 2016 the value of goods exported rose from €1,838 million to €117,608 million. The value of imports rose from €2,164 million to €72,087 million. 2016 represented the highest level of both exports and imports on record.
The Trade in Goods balance (exports minus imports) changed from a deficit of €326 million in 1975 to a surplus of €45,521 million in 2016.
The value of exports in 2016 increased by 5% over 2015, while imports grew by 3% over the same period.
| 17.2 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity | ||||||||||
| €million | ||||||||||
| SITC (Rev 4) | Exports | Imports | ||||||||
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |||
| 0 | Food and live animals | 8,734 | 9,350 | 9,878 | 10,092 | 6,033 | 6,189 | 6,687 | 6,677 | |
| 1 | Beverages and tobacco | 1,174 | 1,147 | 1,287 | 1,330 | 823 | 837 | 876 | 910 | |
| 2 | Crude materials, inedible, except fuels | 1,732 | 1,795 | 1,771 | 1,529 | 672 | 727 | 855 | 824 | |
| 3 | Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials | 823 | 847 | 773 | 686 | 6,886 | 6,477 | 5,104 | 3,784 | |
| 4 | Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes | 52 | 62 | 57 | 78 | 235 | 217 | 245 | 245 | |
| 5 | Chemicals and related products | 50,394 | 51,569 | 64,224 | 66,439 | 10,873 | 11,443 | 13,978 | 14,963 | |
| 6 | Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material | 1,711 | 1,871 | 2,105 | 2,139 | 3,876 | 4,232 | 4,698 | 4,751 | |
| 7 | Machinery and transport equipment | 11,859 | 12,100 | 16,808 | 19,665 | 18,963 | 23,580 | 27,891 | 29,656 | |
| 8 | Miscellaneous manufactured articles | 11,529 | 12,628 | 14,299 | 14,666 | 6,119 | 6,898 | 8,166 | 8,238 | |
| 9 | Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere | 543 | 607 | 562 | 336 | 210 | 293 | 337 | 373 | |
| Unclassified estimates1 | 630 | 641 | 643 | 647 | 1,096 | 1,264 | 1,275 | 1,666 | ||
| Total | 89,182 | 92,616 | 112,407 | 117,608 | 55,787 | 62,158 | 70,111 | 72,087 | ||
| 1 Estimates for which a commodity classification is not available | ||||||||||
| Source: CSO | ||||||||||
The total value of goods exports increased by 32% between the years 2013 and 2016. Exports of Machinery and transport equipment increased by 66% from €11,859 million in 2013 to €19,665 million in 2016.
In 2016 exports of Chemicals and related products accounted for 56% or €66,439 million of total exports.
The value of goods imports increased by 29% between 2013 and 2016. Imports of Food and live animals increased by 11% to €6,677 million over this period.
Chemical and related products (21%) and Machinery and transport equipment (41%) accounted for 62% of total imports in 2016.
In May 2015, significant revisions were incorporated into International Trade in Goods statistics back to 2000. The most significant revision was due to recording trade in aircraft (commodity group SITC 79 - Other transport equipment, including aircraft) on a "transfer of economic ownership" basis. The technical note in the appendix gives more detail on the revised trade data.
On an overall basis the EU accounted for €60,083 million or 51% of total goods exports in 2016. Great Britain and Belgium were the main EU export markets accounting for 11% and 12% of total exports, respectively.
The USA remained the main non EU destination accounting for 26% of total exports.
From 2013 to 2016, the value of goods imports from the EU has remained at around 60% of the total. Great Britain is the largest source of imports, accounting for 22% of total imports in 2016. The USA accounted for 17% of total imports in 2016.
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