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.
| 15.1 Goods Exports and Imports summary analysis | |||||
| Year | Value | Volume index | |||
| (base year 1990=100) | |||||
| Trade | |||||
| Exports | Imports | surplus | Exports | Imports | |
| €m | €m | €m | |||
| 1974 | 1,440 | 2,065 | -625 | 25.2 | 44.2 |
| 1975 | 1,838 | 2,164 | -326 | 27.2 | 38.3 |
| 1976 | 2,361 | 2,969 | -608 | 28.2 | 44.2 |
| 1977 | 3,197 | 3,925 | -727 | 33.2 | 49.9 |
| 1978 | 3,762 | 4,715 | -952 | 36.7 | 57.1 |
| 1979 | 4,416 | 6,130 | -1,714 | 39.6 | 65.5 |
| 1980 | 5,184 | 6,883 | -1,699 | 42.7 | 62.3 |
| 1981 | 6,066 | 8,353 | -2,287 | 43.0 | 63.7 |
| 1982 | 7,227 | 8,655 | -1,428 | 46.1 | 61.5 |
| 1983 | 8,817 | 9,354 | -537 | 51.7 | 63.5 |
| 1984 | 11,297 | 11,316 | -19 | 61.2 | 70.0 |
| 1985 | 12,371 | 11,971 | 400 | 65.2 | 72.3 |
| 1986 | 11,903 | 10,947 | 956 | 67.6 | 74.4 |
| 1987 | 13,616 | 11,625 | 1,991 | 77.4 | 79.1 |
| 1988 | 15,624 | 12,970 | 2,654 | 82.9 | 82.8 |
| 1989 | 18,534 | 15,598 | 2,937 | 92.2 | 93.6 |
| 1990 | 18,204 | 15,832 | 2,372 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 1991 | 19,070 | 16,317 | 2,753 | 105.6 | 100.8 |
| 1992 | 21,260 | 16,754 | 4,506 | 121.1 | 105.6 |
| 1993 | 25,179 | 18,900 | 6,279 | 133.4 | 113.0 |
| 1994 | 28,891 | 21,945 | 6,946 | 153.2 | 127.9 |
| 1995 | 35,330 | 26,181 | 9,149 | 184.0 | 146.3 |
| 1996 | 38,609 | 28,479 | 10,130 | 202.2 | 160.9 |
| 1997 | 44,868 | 32,863 | 12,004 | 232.4 | 184.8 |
| 1998 | 57,322 | 39,715 | 17,607 | 289.2 | 218.3 |
| 1999 | 66,956 | 44,327 | 22,629 | 336.5 | 236.5 |
| 2000 | 83,889 | 55,909 | 27,980 | 401.4 | 275.2 |
| 2001 | 92,690 | 57,384 | 35,306 | 422.0 | 274.2 |
| 2002 | 93,675 | 55,628 | 38,047 | 435.1 | 276.6 |
| 2003 | 82,076 | 47,865 | 34,212 | 418.4 | 259.7 |
| 2004 | 84,410 | 51,105 | 33,304 | 446.5 | 283.6 |
| 2005 | 86,732 | 57,465 | 29,267 | 456.7 | 316.3 |
| 2006 | 86,772 | 60,857 | 25,915 | 458.0 | 325.2 |
| 2007 | 89,226 | 63,486 | 25,741 | 481.8 | 340.9 |
| 2008 | 86,394 | 57,585 | 28,810 | 484.5 | 300.5 |
| 2009 | 84,239 | 45,061 | 39,178 | 468.4 | 249.2 |
| 2010 | 89,703 | 45,763 | 43,429 | 485.5 | 241.3 |
| 2011 | 91,228 | 48,315 | 42,913 | 507.9 | 240.8 |
| 2012 | 91,688 | 49,151 | 42,538 | 479.1 | 231.9 |
| 2013 | 86,890 | 49,635 | 37,255 | 460.6 | 238.8 |
| Source: CSO | |||||
Interactive table: StatBank link
Between 1974 and 2013 the value of Goods Exports grew from €1,440 million to €86,890 million while Goods Imports increased from €2,065 million to €49,635 million. The highest level of exports was €93,675 million in 2002 and €63,486 million for imports in 2007.
The Trade in Goods balance (exports minus imports) changed from a deficit of €625 million in 1974 to a surplus of €37,255 million in 2013. The highest Trade surplus was recorded in 2010 at €43,429 million.
Comparing 2013 with 2012 the value of exports decreased by 5% while the value of imports increased by 1%.
| 15.2 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity | ||||||||||
| €million | ||||||||||
| SITC (Rev 4) | Exports | Imports | ||||||||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |||
| 0 | Food and live animals | 7,003 | 7,874 | 8,132 | 8,748 | 4,579 | 5,018 | 5,589 | 6,050 | |
| 1 | Beverages and tobacco | 1,204 | 1,177 | 1,208 | 1,178 | 822 | 806 | 862 | 815 | |
| 2 | Crude materials, inedible, except fuels | 1,444 | 1,764 | 1,733 | 1,714 | 678 | 725 | 694 | 673 | |
| 3 | Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials | 1,028 | 1,354 | 1,647 | 823 | 5,602 | 6,946 | 7,160 | 6,885 | |
| 4 | Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes | 27 | 54 | 55 | 51 | 181 | 248 | 251 | 236 | |
| 5 | Chemicals and related products | 53,237 | 56,031 | 55,045 | 50,418 | 8,758 | 10,415 | 10,265 | 10,875 | |
| 6 | Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material | 1,449 | 1,658 | 1,690 | 1,706 | 3,499 | 3,712 | 3,713 | 3,848 | |
| 7 | Machinery and transport equipment | 10,587 | 10,370 | 10,314 | 10,430 | 12,324 | 12,426 | 12,560 | 12,063 | |
| 8 | Miscellaneous manufactured articles | 10,371 | 10,231 | 10,831 | 10,693 | 6,153 | 6,013 | 6,069 | 6,027 | |
| 9 | Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere | 2,711 | 179 | 483 | 544 | 2,171 | 1,097 | 1,033 | 1,066 | |
| Unclassified estimates1 | 643 | 535 | 550 | 583 | 998 | 908 | 956 | 1,096 | ||
| Total | 89,703 | 91,228 | 91,688 | 86,890 | 45,763 | 48,315 | 49,151 | 49,635 | ||
| 1 Estimates for which a commodity classification is not available. | ||||||||||
| Source: CSO | ||||||||||
Interactive table: StatBank link
Between 2010 and 2013 the value of Goods Exports decreased by 3%. Exports of Food and live animals showed a steady increase (+25%) from €7,003 million in 2010 to €8,748 million in 2013.
Exports of Chemicals and related products (€50,418 million) accounted for 58% of total exports in 2013.
Over the four year period 2010 to 2013 the value of Goods Imports increased by 8% to €49,635 million with imports of Food and live animals increasing by 32%.
Interactive table: StatBank link
On an overall basis the EU accounted for €49,562 million or 57% of total Goods Exports in 2013. Great Britain and Belgium were the main EU export markets, representing 14% and 13% respectively in 2013.
Between 2010 and 2013, the value of exports increased by more than 30% to the following ten countries- Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Canada, India, Russia and Switzerland.
The USA was the main non-EU destination for goods accounting for 21% of total exports in 2013.
Interactive table: StatBank link
Historically, the proportion of Goods Imports coming from the EU has remained stable at over 60%. Around two thirds of the value of imports in 2013 came from the EU with 32% coming from the UK.
Go to next chapter >>> Prices
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.