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Trade with the UK

Trade with the UK

Trade deficit with the UK was €1.3 billion in 2021

CSO statistical publication, , 11am

Ireland has generally had a trade deficit with the UK, that is, we import from the UK more than we export to the UK. The deficit increased from €2 billion in 2016 to €5.4 billion in 2020. It fell to €1.3 billion in 2021, due to both a fall in imports as a result of Great Britain leaving the customs union in January 2021, combined with an increase in the level of exports.

X-axis labelExports UKImports UKTrade Balance
Jan 20161084.765383617821319.08139252106-234.316008903232
Feb 20161105.564739958461372.20138718168-266.636647223216
Mar 20161275.014824519791400.74960202309-125.734777503301
Apr 20161174.129270944331347.24687263838-173.117601694056
May 20161233.944788814251392.1978203943-158.253031580055
June 20161267.064240369271407.32598547298-140.261745103709
Brexit referendum1213.077482808761314.30075364112-101.223270832351
Aug 20161267.089748817341366.1179804973-99.0282316799635
Sep 20161324.955677831391461.74324943386-136.787571602467
Oct 20161154.448570901381485.28385435469-330.835283453311
Nov 20161761.181191027471615.02754826043146.153642767034
Dec 20161223.930536788891645.11086312181-421.180326332915
Jan 20171066.318279029561409.61801230939-343.299733279833
Feb 20171271.327014762531357.9512398137-86.6242250511721
Article 50 triggered1306.173969086611595.65157393508-289.477604848466
Apr 20171581.720225077421537.6957934962344.0244315811835
May 20171460.960177403021748.59659947329-287.636422070267
Jun 20171371.279296818941514.68245710782-143.403160288887
Jul 20171237.602154760131455.72409689062-218.121942130491
Aug 20171361.901046299961542.49022970354-180.589183403585
Sep 20171549.279272663391591.50140608106-42.2221334176731
Oct 20171316.665142876361682.78186194121-366.116719064851
Nov 20171466.273291918541793.12684889513-326.853556976591
Dec 20171322.982515527741744.11533302987-421.132817502127
Jan 20181338.362343737951589.35938399715-250.997040259194
Feb 20181214.197112356761508.76745018482-294.570337828054
Mar 20181286.169145984951716.99483527872-430.825689293771
Apr 20181196.403725780711535.64626161194-339.242535831226
May 20181373.58638680251679.4028630161-305.816476213598
Jun 20181384.587317026241614.38846039139-229.801143365144
Jul 20181345.008904724921616.4026102313-271.39370550638
Aug 20181323.567030359921597.88993427207-274.322903912153
Sep 20181395.354693405211666.96817200479-271.613478599575
Oct 20181411.715925043971892.11299521171-480.397070167739
Nov 20181475.279969931281871.98628644528-396.706316513998
Dec 20181379.330946711391742.50893368-363.177986968604
Jan 20191248.786027192391799.92921655643-551.14318936404
Feb 20191256.839602233121700.27279641228-443.433194179161
Article 50 extended1339.895374048191904.0373829877-564.142008939516
Apr 20191394.436904761281588.78872769969-194.351822938414
May 20191486.609547720331575.5772419923-88.9676942719727
Jun 20191258.724650701451492.69119185721-233.966541155758
Jul 20191313.461490816591664.44545362025-350.983962803667
Aug 20191192.439001873251521.57633708911-329.137335215865
Sep 20191277.840178351131660.80246929535-382.962290944221
Article 50 extended again1560.72883267772011.55451926754-450.825686589835
Nov 20191271.042548936271753.9207531498-482.878204213532
Dec 20191347.65504042141928.78215212559-581.127111704191
UK leaves EU1272.583529696131581.81687360719-309.233343911053
Feb 20201139.154056910931548.73506407383-409.581007162897
Mar 20201278.532755969941634.16562335214-355.632867382208
Apr 2020870.0864396504651293.06533818944-422.978898538972
May 20201110.960033906261371.8291011314-260.869067225139
Jun 20201062.124137683481492.99471003878-430.870572355295
Jul 20201142.97758426331648.88421270539-505.906628442098
Aug 20201274.205361679991432.2098546511-158.004492971113
Sep 20201270.070754553091629.32027056147-359.249516008381
Oct 20201220.90737845892255.04487921772-1034.13750075882
Nov 20201695.028676538972123.67670598949-428.648029450512
Dec 20201378.26576046932126.10105441498-747.835293945679
UK leaves single market1162.92985708278959.108878255859203.820978826921
Feb 20211077.839088384821136.96280288407-59.123714499246
Mar 20211555.858518181131700.30859810158-144.450079920454
Apr 20211349.188522326511489.20057588016-140.012053553653
May 20211501.400880562471553.99712735357-52.5962467911054
Jun 20211753.209936016541778.37455295666-25.1646169401147
Jul 20211790.837127557281458.66757908514332.169548472142
Aug 20211298.058714614041605.72716821421-307.668453600176
Sep 20211737.164236760241738.50218878597-1.33795202572855
Oct 20211407.910618567621934.10238521967-526.191766652055
Nov 20212066.712392899441973.9585686756592.7538242237879
Dec 20211481.324912973172183.51002497407-702.185112000903
Jan 20221748.284469296162130.94575006286-382.661280766703
Feb 20221386.976534656591925.17164588207-538.195111225479
Mar 20221815.753752231452351.14145846516-535.387706233706
Apr 20221963.148073985272430.43087951331-467.282805528049
May 20221946.837325403572377.34273536575-430.505409962171
Jun 20222394.271308963592581.82054710169-187.549238138092
Table 5.1 Exports to UK 2016-2022
Month€million
2016201720182019202020212022
January1,0851,0661,3381,2491,2731,1631,748
February1,1061,2711,2141,2571,1391,0781,387
March1,2751,3061,2861,3401,2791,5561,816
April1,1741,5821,1961,3948701,3491,963
May1,2341,4611,3741,4871,1111,5011,946
June1,2671,3711,3851,2591,0621,7532,394
July1,2131,2381,3451,3131,1431,791 
August1,2671,3621,3241,1921,2741,298 
September1,3251,5491,3951,2781,2701,737 
October1,1541,3171,4121,5611,2211,408 
November1,7611,4661,4751,2711,6952,067 
December1,2241,3231,3791,3481,3781,481 
Total15,08516,31216,12415,94814,71518,18211,255
Table 5.2 Imports from UK 2016-2022
Month€million
2016201720182019202020212022
January1,3191,4101,5891,8001,5829592,131
February1,3721,3581,5091,7001,5491,1371,925
March1,4011,5961,7171,9041,6341,7002,351
April1,3471,5381,5361,5891,2931,4892,430
May1,3921,7491,6791,5761,3721,5542,377
June1,4071,5151,6141,4931,4931,7782,582
July1,3141,4561,6161,6641,6491,459 
August1,3661,5421,5981,5221,4321,606 
September1,4621,5921,6671,6611,6291,739 
October1,4851,6831,8922,0122,2551,934 
November1,6151,7931,8721,7542,1241,974 
December1,6451,7441,7431,9292,1262,184 
Total17,12618,97420,03220,60220,13819,51213,797
Table 5.3 Trade Balance with UK 2016-2022
Month€million
2016201720182019202020212022
January-234-343-251-551-309204-383
February-267-87-295-443-410-59-538
March-126-289-431-564-356-144-535
April-17344-339-194-423-140-467
May-158-288-306-89-261-53-431
June-140-143-230-234-431-25-188
July-101-218-271-351-506332 
August-99-181-274-329-158-308 
September-137-42-272-383-359-1 
October-331-366-480-451-1,034-526 
November146-327-397-483-42993 
December-421-421-363-581-748-702 
Total-2,041-2,661-3,909-4,654-5,423-1,330-2,542

Trade with Northern Ireland grew in 2021

Exports to Great Britain fell from €13.4 billion in 2019 to €12.3 billion in 2020 and recovered to €14.4 billion in 2021. Exports to Northern Ireland were around €2.5 billion in 2019 and 2020, but increased to €3.7 billion in 2021 after Great Britain left the single market but Northern Ireland remained within it.

Imports from Great Britain fell from €18.2 billion in 2019 to €15.4 billion in 2021. Imports from Northern Ireland increased from €2.4 billion in 2019 and 2020 to €4 billion in 2021. Imports of Chemicals & Related Products increased from €250 million in 2019 to €850 million in 2021. Imports of Food & Live Animals from Northern Ireland increased from €720 million to over €1 billion over the same period.

Ireland’s exports to Northern Ireland as a share of total UK exports have increased from 16% to 23% between Q1 2019 and Q1 2022, while the share of imports has increased from 12% to 18% over the same time period.

X-axis labelNI ImportsGB ImportsNI ExportsGB Exports
2019 Q112.016309662049987.983690337950116.087873930303883.9121260696962
2019 Q212.702965729321787.297034270678314.686137163548585.3138628364515
2019 Q311.710376430204488.289623569795616.817796228038183.1822037719619
2019 Q49.9279897664592290.072010233540815.660240605474784.3397593945253
2020 Q112.858426629904587.141573370095516.312823041235683.6871769587644
2020 Q212.286716945948587.713283054051517.611026598225882.3889734017742
2020 Q313.532431614319286.467568385680817.767679197191382.2323208028087
2020 Q49.8189797451946690.181020254805314.266980812490885.7330191875092
2021 Q122.86968711485877.13031288514219.887018983374580.1129810166255
2021 Q222.544960560077877.455039439922221.752311876848578.2476881231515
2021 Q320.206576963311179.793423036688919.8175732646180.18242673539
2021 Q418.358818040937281.641181959062821.214978369345678.7850216306544
2022 Q118.483979757276781.516020242723322.310852875387877.6891471246122
2022 Q215.908549579747984.091450420252120.006660064777579.9933399352225

Exports to the UK grew by 24% in 2021 in comparison to 2020

Exports of Food & Live Animals comprise between a quarter and a third of total goods exports to the UK. Exports of Chemicals & Related Products have increased from €959 million in Q1 2019 to over €1.5 billion by the end of 2021. Total exports to the UK have increased from €3.8 billion in Q1 2019 to €4.9 billion in Q1 2022. 

Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhereMiscellaneous manufactured articlesMachinery and transport equipmentManufactured goods classified chiefly by materialChemicals and related productsAnimal and vegetable oils, fats and waxesMineral fuels, lubricants and related materialsCrude materials, inedible, except fuelsBeverages and tobaccoFood and live animals
Q1 2019104.056067320965382.757345531641544.867589622134324.941046038456958.5348590378036.23409294230673146.747699070849128.43568469660175.69314514084211173.2534740721
Q2 2019103.786919929711347.788820133504693.212061280925315.7862815720261345.040653162996.53148954.0005823677364132.38927478529969.88028400718241071.35473694368
Q3 2019105.548705682037358.556231021113532.173495909958312.2769916746261009.995365965664.71378693514239136.947984459554114.34620816247176.00433043842871133.17757079197
Q4 2019107.654608311356379.636278604609626.627653361387344.3504877876521105.821650305785.6409140219482284.9530075970928110.90485026435481.2532421046151332.58372967658
Q1 2020109.384069728646352.206085142132641.267366645265293.670752187477919.552320655116.31233230348044111.663862584716112.74503674206562.1564535492241081.31206303889
Q2 202099.7692184720309244.37363945263381.001729843303198.311435976337920.7842201904246.0122320955472933.329436579175494.25468785201155.45926767863021009.87474310012
Q3 202084.0868622962699341.846469064593490.804108809341308.7760084521571048.893417612597.3226288898623951.1168633973734114.59121561988476.03671275129361163.77941360301
Q4 202088.3107243023516361.260781825264547.904693826383316.2225958022421266.028020259627.95535323682983134.136892064169124.54332765506780.69528020123961367.14414629401
Q1 202121.3948153887877350.84869582064603.592147857781327.2000211178221275.112938095846.0176328272447774.59098605268142.20258644355861.2672341857855934.400405858599
Q2 202132.826598906628433.13275523429766.065264652984386.6567103876811455.622574213127.2954835939884663.59301490626149.43725205783589.86898366229061219.30070129044
Q3 202121.5102385816999433.905598131444760.625837767365401.1017583350121559.717252788596.619162922494395.477244663713157.42411574271780.97248477394931308.70638522458
Q4 202124.9379388019014440.848252731621647.116004266801390.5311888132681651.599737993099.02506497626968209.202399997876156.557660416313103.5479350011381322.58174144195
Q1 202235.6710250619026501.608052975121745.910067087588411.2094284685161544.412512840718.92795784852783274.884272314131168.75896811781474.01947952970521206.82910195838
Q2 202230.7726499759532491.018379614694870.025392425736435.4546869377392469.7171690591511.3915254768893293.236822475831194.72422473573881.47403241849831412.61360800391

Imports from Great Britain fell sharply in Q1 2021

Imports from the UK were €5.4 billion in Q1 2019. They fell to €4.2 billion in Q2 2020, just after the UK left the EU. Imports had recovered to €6.5 billion by the last quarter of 2020, due in part to stockpiling by importers who anticipated difficulties with customs checks when Great Britain left the customs union at the end of 2020. This is reflected in the decrease in imports from the UK in Q1 2021 to €3.8 billion.

Imports have increased again since and were €6.4 billion in Q1 2022.

Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhereMiscellaneous manufactured articlesMachinery and transport equipmentManufactured goods classified chiefly by materialChemicals and related productsAnimal and vegetable oils, fats and waxesMineral fuels, lubricants and related materialsCrude materials, inedible, except fuelsBeverages and tobaccoFood and live animals
Q1 2019319.397204782688597.5335711212161211.06488895331596.189094745422771.61875713088316.4679703800398738.54371348631677.270012061648998.9555258350218977.198657459871
Q2 2019308.799878684499550.418249699371983.964144180511577.26022855519591.77746685001512.7321813832297580.79180076228678.2039171114957104.682802039881868.426492282725
Q3 2019317.164593556959585.755292575198961.895359846229573.652197192619588.42267026903313.7074182508053681.16526832710966.4666561049613135.129193914637923.465609967166
Q4 2019306.107078644898696.6024936620831083.06648742151572.901230441157886.82505597063716.5421656702065850.21467077083863.9713342995972115.5778463370541102.44906132496
Q1 2020277.492890246532554.1068347900381010.8622909031619.921933972008577.66679655009518.7913448185108596.52600401398667.70651773179387.3591993957823954.28374861132
Q2 2020256.627022023449625.36253126986855.810664518492472.962496234657573.7983634191614.5823082228355343.11214955215465.6083355187026116.675997800945833.34928079936
Q3 2020255.889823853628659.9806645794431076.76006257726630.329280663292595.09649884662818.275240171752376.29687707693266.1753844938925135.554714202747896.055791452392
Q4 2020266.922233834625790.3165502626881587.85835278042663.6723874683781275.3913568016920.3644663227569524.96201442813272.2938854880922138.3674841455821164.67390808982
Q1 2021100.986642053975519.412576731398795.448700906574511.204828684693611.9729204359613.4929284347364477.26721078883452.288694416614277.5226125597304636.783164228999
Q2 202199.17162637404674.7262946428691037.74521904484607.646482859529831.6293404787714.7169193640967658.84578546153568.2151877742369118.39664883813710.478751352347
Q3 202188.2796732794034571.582975330185905.574964440716648.13893459987838.47287001274221.0356564508995809.99568886442163.6273153745217118.699198581542737.489659151024
Q4 202178.489225812395704.512173579262990.343618875029640.720311243621258.6591822106629.3838365248051232.7551143942269.1060621307513118.977586918968968.623867179689
Q1 2022102.345157831821569.8498387778591048.59707469941695.878690234081289.2770737537926.72636117393361680.5910361326967.9084790029887101.332879413597813.594330518138
Q2 2022102.361893311023612.486063243073951.723540626731726.4321339090441841.4677592536735.11492797196752084.1844674576170.3283180861749131.432352208794856.607278232409

Imports of Food & Live Animals from the UK fell by 21% in 2021

Total exports of Food & Live Animals fell from over €1.3 billion in Q4 2020 to below €1 billion in Q1 2021, when the UK left the single market, but has since recovered and was over €1.4 billion in Q2 2022. Exports of Meat & Meat Preparations accounts for between 35% and 40% of total Food & Live Animals exports.

Imports of Food & Live Animals from the UK tends to peak in Q4 of each year. It was at its highest in Q4 2020, where it was noted that there was stockpiling of goods by importers ahead of the new customs arrangements which came into force for Great Britian in January 2021. Imports fell to €637 million in Q1 2021 but recovered through that year and was valued at €969 million in Q4 2021.

X-axis labelExportsImports
2019 Q11173.2534740721977.198657459871
2019 Q21071.35473694368868.426492282725
2019 Q31133.17757079197923.465609967166
2019 Q41332.583729676581102.44906132496
2020 Q11081.31206303889954.28374861132
2020 Q21009.87474310012833.34928079936
2020 Q31163.77941360301896.055791452393
2020 Q41367.144146294011164.67390808982
2021 Q1934.400405858599636.783164228999
2021 Q21219.30070129044710.478751352347
2021 Q31308.70638522458737.489659151024
2021 Q41322.58174144195968.623867179688
2022 Q11180.80779953792812.575019826306
2022 Q21401.59003648174845.691198276231