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E-mail: Trade@cso.ie Ciaran.Counihan@cso.ie Damian.Malone@cso.ie
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CSO statistical release, , 11am

Goods Exports and Imports

February 2021

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
September 202013,6136,2077,406
October 202012,3496,9855,365
November 202014,6388,9325,706
December 202012,8197,4875,332
January 202113,1186,9766,142
February 202113,1596,9436,216

Seasonally adjusted goods trade static in February

Figure 1 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted
go to full release

Seasonally adjusted goods exports increased by €41 million (+0.3%) to €13,159 million in February 2021 compared with January 2021, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €33 million (-0.5%) to €6,943 million leading to an increase of €74 million (+1%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €6,216 million in February 2021 compared with the previous month (see Table 2). Seasonal adjustment compares month-to-month data by removing fluctuations that may occur due to seasonal patterns in trade.

Exports increased by almost €800 million in February 2021 compared with February 2020

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for February 2021 was €12,352 million representing an increase of €787 million (+7%) when compared with February 2020. The value of goods exports for the period January and February 2021 was €25,695 million, a decrease of €852 million (-3%) when compared with the first two months of 2020.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €1,183 million (+35%) to €4,572 million in February 2021 compared with February 2020. This represents 37% of the value of total exports.

Exports of Office machinery and automatic data processing machines decreased by €101 million (-26%) to €284 million over the same comparative period.

Imports decrease by almost €1.5 billion in February 2021 compared with February 2020

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for February 2021 was €6,467 million representing a decrease of €1,503 million (-19%) when compared with February 2020. The value of goods imports for January and February 2021 was €12,617 million, which is a decrease of €2,462 million (-16%) compared with the first two months of 2020.

Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft decreased by €1,131 million (-63%) to €659 million in February 2021 compared with February 2020.

Imports of Organic chemicals decreased by €360 million (-38%) to €590 million.

Imports of Food and live animals decreased by €119 million (-18%) to €526 million over the same comparative period.

Imports of Electrical Machinery, apparatus and appliances increased by €423 million (+177%) to €662 million.

The value of goods imports for February 2021 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €5,809 million, a decrease of €373 million (-6%) when compared with the corresponding February 2020 figure of €6,182 million.

Imports from Great Britain decrease by over €700 million in February over February 2020

Imports from Great Britain decreased by €742 million (-53%) to €650 million compared with February 2020. The largest decreases were in the imports of Food and live animals, Mineral fuels, and Machinery and transport equipment (see Table 5).  Imports from Great Britain were 10% of the value of total imports in February 2021.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for January and February 2021 was €1,206 million, a decrease of €1,589 million (-57%) compared with January and February 2020.

Exports to Great Britain decreased by €107 million (-11%) to €859 million in February 2021 compared with February 2020. The largest fall was in the exports of Food and live animals (see Table 5). Exports to Great Britain accounted for 7% of total exports.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first two months of 2021 was €1,812 million, a decrease of €249 million (-12%) on the first two months of 2020.

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €4,661 million (38%) of total goods exports in February 2021 of which €1,437 million went to Germany and €993 million went to Belgium. Total EU exports in February 2021 decreased by €54 million (-1%) compared with February 2020. In February 2021, Germany was Ireland’s biggest export and import partner in the EU. Imports from Germany were valued at €618 million in February 2021.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,271 million (35%) of total exports in February 2021.

The EU accounted for €2,130 million (33%) of total goods imports in February 2021, which is a decrease of €1,212 million (-36%) compared with February 2020.

The USA with €1,167 million (18%), and China with €483 million (7%) were the other main non-EU sources of imports.

Exports by industrial origin and Imports by main use

Industrial produce accounted for €11,664 million (94%) of total exports in February 2021. This is an increase of €795 million (+7%) when compared with February 2020. There was €4,247 million of this exported to the USA, and €4,352 million to the EU. Agricultural produce accounted for €581 million (5%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €1,163 million (18%) of total imports in February 2021, a decrease of €1,166 million (-50%) when compared with February 2020.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €1,591 million (25%) of total imports, and Materials for further production accounted for €3,624 million (56%) (see Table 7).

 *It should be noted that the detailed data described in Paragraph 3 onwards, and the data in Tables 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are not seasonally adjusted. Only the data described in the first two paragraphs and in Table 2 are seasonally adjusted. 

 

Note that from 1st January 2021 all trade in goods with Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) is treated as non-EU trade and therefore must be reported to Revenue’s Customs declaration systems. Prior to this, including throughout the transition period, data on trade with Great Britain were collected via the Intrastat survey.

Under the Revised Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland is legally part of the customs territory of the UK, but effectively remains within the EU Single Market for the movement of goods. In practise, this means that trade in goods with Northern Ireland continue to be collected on the Intrastat survey.

This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
Table 1 Goods Exports and Imports summary analysis
PeriodValue1Volume index2Unit value index2 
ExportsImportsTrade surplusBase year 2010=100
€m€m€mExportsImportsExportsImportsTerms of trade3
2010 90,92448,69542,229 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0
201193,19153,03540,155 106.1  110.4  96.6  98.7  97.9
2012 93,50756,17937,328 100.6  120.2  102.2  96.0  106.5
201389,18255,78733,394 101.1  123.5  97.0  92.8  104.6
201492,61662,15830,458 103.8  130.1  98.2  98.1  100.1
2015112,40770,11142,296 115.5  143.6  106.8  100.3  106.5
2016119,29274,23745,055 125.6  158.2  102.7  93.3  110.2
2017122,78582,94339,842 135.8  168.9  99.3  96.1  103.3
2018140,64591,99148,654 156.2  189.2  99.1  99.5  99.6
2019152,53491,01961,515 168.5  192.7  99.5  96.6  103.0
2020161,89486,40775,487..........
         
2018Quarter 133,84320,10013,743 152.3  172.2  97.9  95.9  102.1
 Quarter 235,55621,88713,669 161.5  184.3  96.8  97.6  99.3
 Quarter 334,16323,22310,940 148.2  181.9  101.4  104.0  97.6
 Quarter 437,08326,78110,302 163.2  218.7  100.2  100.3  99.9
2019Quarter 137,57721,84715,730 166.5  186.7  99.3  96.1  103.3
 Quarter 238,54022,15816,382 170.6  190.1  99.3  95.7  103.8
 Quarter 337,62922,07815,551 166.5  187.9  99.4  96.3  103.3
 Quarter 438,78924,93613,853 170.8  208.5  99.9  97.1  102.8
2020Quarter 144,20621,74622,461 199.4  186.4  96.3  95.8  100.5
 Quarter 237,84818,47319,374 172.3  156.8  96.5  96.3  100.2
 Quarter 340,54020,44520,095 189.5  176.1  94.4  95.2  99.1
 Quarter 439,30025,74313,557 182.5  229.4  94.6  91.2  103.7
        
2018January12,1026,5415,561 159.6  168.8  100.1  95.4  104.9
 February10,4016,4263,975 138.1  163.8  99.4  96.7  102.8
 March11,3407,1324,208 159.1  183.9  94.1  95.5  98.5
 April10,9806,6064,375 155.4  160.9  93.4  101.1  92.4
 May11,8106,9274,884 160.1  182.1  97.4  93.7  103.9
 June12,7668,3554,410 168.9  209.9  99.7  98.1  101.7
 July11,0757,7213,354 144.6  179.8  101.1  105.8  95.6
 August11,5387,2494,290 152.9  176.4  99.6  100.9  98.7
 September11,5508,2543,297 147.1  189.4  103.6  105.2  98.4
 October12,2558,9943,262 164.1  216.5  98.6  100.8  97.8
 November12,9568,8724,084 173.5  219.8  98.9  99.6  99.3
 December11,8728,9152,957 152.1  219.9  103.2  100.6  102.5
      
2019January13,4857,6625,824 179.1  196.0  99.4  96.3  103.2
 February12,4146,5275,887 164.9  165.8  99.3  96.6  102.8
 March11,6777,6584,019 155.5  198.2  99.1  95.4  103.8
 April12,7917,3415,451 169.7  190.7  99.4  94.8  104.9
 May13,6987,3566,342 182.1  189.2  99.3  95.8  103.6
 June12,0507,4614,589 160.1  190.3  99.3  96.6  102.8
 July13,3647,9785,385 177.2  203.2  99.5  96.2  103.4
 August11,7586,7355,023 156.2  172.8  99.3  96.0  103.5
 September12,5077,3655,143 166.2  187.7  99.5  96.6  102.9
 October14,2888,6145,675 189.4  218.6  99.5  97.0  102.6
 November12,8447,8444,999 169.5  194.7  99.9  97.5  102.5
 December11,6578,4783,179 153.5  212.3  100.2  96.9  103.4
          
20204January14,9827,1087,875 204.6  179.8  96.6  97.4  99.2
 February11,5657,9713,594 166.2  206.5  92.8  93.8  98.9
 March17,6596,66710,992 227.4  172.8  99.5  96.3  103.3
 April11,3375,5715,766 158.4  141.8  94.4  95.8  98.6
 May12,8706,1536,717 178.3  158.5  95.3  95.4  99.9
 June13,6416,7506,891 180.3  170.2  99.9  97.7  102.2
 July13,5978,1095,488 190.6  207.9  93.6  96.1  97.4
 August12,9256,0006,925 183.5  159.3  94.4  92.6  101.9
 September14,0176,3367,682 194.5  161.0  95.1  97.0  98.1
 October12,2327,6064,626 171.8  203.8  94.0  92.0  102.2
 November14,8589,2195,639 207.1  239.3  93.8  91.9  102.0
 December12,2118,9193,292 168.6  245.1  95.9  89.7  106.9
          
20214January13,3436,1497,193..........
 February12,3526,4675,885..........
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000, see background notes.
2 Monthly data have been rescaled to make their average equal to the annual.
3 Export unit value index divided by Import unit value index.
4 Revised. February 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
.. Indices not yet available.
Table 2 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted1 series
PeriodValueVolume index
ExportsImportsTrade surplusBase year 2010=100
€m€m€mExportsImports
2018Quarter 133,21120,28912,922 148.1  172.3
 Quarter 234,88621,89912,987 157.8  184.2
 Quarter 335,69424,75610,938 155.4  193.9
 Quarter 436,78925,01911,770 163.6  206.4
2019Quarter 137,58121,74015,841 165.6  187.9
 Quarter 237,69822,13115,567 167.1  192.4
 Quarter 338,54423,39515,148 171.3  198.4
 Quarter 438,90523,09015,816 171.2  189.9
2020Quarter 142,58622,17320,413 192.7  184.3
 Quarter 237,24518,77818,467 169.9  163.8
 Quarter 340,92221,23619,686 194.0  185.2
 Quarter 439,80623,40516,402 184.5  208.4
       
2018January11,6496,7744,876 151.2  175.5
 February10,8556,8773,978 146.1  172.1
 March10,7076,6394,068 147.0  169.4
 April11,2737,0074,266 157.9  176.0
 May11,5426,5994,943 154.7  175.7
 June12,0708,2933,778 161.0  201.0
 July11,7148,0733,641 151.9  186.2
 August11,7228,1733,549 155.9  197.0
 September12,2588,5103,748 158.4  198.4
 October11,8988,3443,554 154.2  196.9
 November12,1468,2773,869 162.3  202.8
 December12,7458,3994,347 174.3  219.7
       
2019January12,9787,4795,499 172.3  198.3
 February13,0626,9526,109 175.2  174.8
 March11,5417,3094,232 149.3  190.5
 April12,7127,3875,325 164.6  195.3
 May12,6727,3665,306 172.9  192.3
 June12,3147,3784,936 163.8  189.7
 July13,2938,1625,131 178.1  207.3
 August12,4887,6454,843 165.4  192.0
 September12,7637,5885,174 170.3  195.8
 October14,1107,8316,280 181.7  195.6
 November12,4147,4994,915 163.4  187.3
 December12,3817,7604,621 168.4  186.8
      
2020January13,6727,6216,051 191.0  186.4
 February12,1308,2063,924 174.5  211.0
 March16,7846,34610,438 212.6  155.5
April11,3645,9635,401 157.2  153.2
May12,9016,4496,451 181.5  169.2
June12,9806,3656,615 171.1  168.9
July13,2008,1785,022 189.7  206.0
August14,1096,8517,258 201.1  186.7
September13,6136,2077,406 191.1  162.9
October12,3496,9855,365 170.0  193.5
November14,6388,9325,706 200.5  223.2
December12,8197,4875,332 183.1  208.6
     
2021January13,1186,9766,142....
 February13,1596,9436,216....
1 Seasonally adjusted data has been revised from January 2010 onwards using X-13-ARIMA methodology, implemented in JDEMETRA+. Previously X-11 methodology was used.
.. Indices not yet available.
Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity1
€million
SITC (Rev 4)ExportsImports
FebFebJan-FebJan-FebFebFebJan-FebJan-Feb
20202021202020212020202120202021
0Food and live animals8598531,7351,5926455261,291950
00Live animals other than animals of Division 031523313431136323
01Meat and meat preparations3053266245827758161104
02Dairy products and birds' eggs1551413262658475162132
03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof5549849522114726
04Cereals and cereal preparations484593869165178125
05Vegetables and fruit2725544810485211165
06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey129251634256745
07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof37327569533710767
08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)3339648085105166172
09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations173167359317635213090
1Beverages and tobacco1191212632265850119101
11Beverages 119121263226544711394
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures00003467
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1091462342657561153128
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw4610100000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 12352142
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 04061112
24Cork and wood1522273915123031
25Pulp and waste paper256125193
26Textile fibres and their wastes101421241121
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)1011222212112520
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap587312612615113831
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes910192126234438
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials5181212191386219819497
32Coal, coke and briquettes10222032671217
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials3453179143298153632350
34Gas, natural and manufactured21327750159113
35Electric current651014581517
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes78141622214739
41Animal oils and fats6712152132
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils112219193934
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes00002253
5Chemicals and related products6,7637,91416,31917,3621,9281,7313,4963,531
51Organic chemicals2,3522,3905,3684,8029515901,5041,481
52Inorganic chemicals4011602933265849
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials1010201920193934
54Medical and pharmaceutical products3,3894,5728,73610,5086047631,2031,323
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations6265781,3621,2018289185168
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)111145488484
57Plastics in primary forms362973576766146128
58Plastics in non-primary forms48571032055656118108
59Chemical materials and products nes2612675965397173159155
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material187208376391456429967807
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins33551234
62Rubber manufactures nes912172527305961
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)2429485622244944
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof151531277565160119
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products1411282338428281
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes36486888504710687
67Iron and steel162132336559142115
68Non-ferrous metals8101920634310879
69Manufactures of metals nes6259128114114118259216
7Machinery and transport equipment2,0561,7064,5403,1493,4462,6196,1585,008
71Power generating machinery and equipment1289123221590154205257
72Machinery specialised for particular industries6563120113150112289226
73Metalworking machinery2345992217
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes157131313243152181310340
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)385284942623492364949707
76Telecommunications and sound equipment9381195138150154314307
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts8588721,7211,572239662498891
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)33356754375323765685
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)3361469451861,7896592,8051,579
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,3341,2752,6962,4347757181,6751,368
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings1015212622244846
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc1912402445529897
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers31631292516
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories18133723142116305229
85Footwear316339237346
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5345221,0871,016164164325304
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks118118241234443811969
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes6305931,2571,103308291681561
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere2312461625124823
Unclassified estimates256281135515482307164
           
Total11,56512,35226,54725,6957,9716,46715,07912,617
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. February 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
2 Estimates for which a commodity classification is not available.
Table 4 Goods Exports and Imports classified by country1
€million
CountryExportsImports
FebFebJan-FebJan-FebFebFebJan-FebJan-Feb
20202021202020212020202120202021
Austria4334776025344752
Belgium1,1099932,9892,285134139399273
Bulgaria118251826510
Croatia449101122
Cyprus32640101
Czech Republic294670846056131141
Denmark3949889141459486
Estonia22331122
Finland2029434915102923
France4824111,0237711,2094131,9811,051
Germany1,1831,4372,5852,5238126181,4191,101
Greece791822114656911
Hungary 2121464931284750
Italy 290283698704218149355294
Latvia4591144812
Lithuania567158131819
Luxembourg6613124368
Malta34671111
Netherlands9327781,6301,344378290647563
Poland841151802226360145118
Portugal2226545721204143
Romania35356871791420
Slovakia9923224579
Slovenia1018213338512
Spain204159422332196136296248
Sweden7384164147485685119
EU Country not specified21079199753208240
Total EU2734,7154,66110,4989,1673,3422,1305,8764,309
Euro-Zone44,4084,2209,8308,3783,0361,8495,2703,723
         
Great Britain9668592,0611,8121,3926502,7951,206
Northern Ireland168232339435145283306464
Total UK1,1341,0912,4002,2471,5379343,1011,670
         
Australia6055131115841710
Brazil201874371382825
Canada21576315181295883101
China59456801,7421,556351483944931
India3835736034428386
Japan1802248694988698280196
Malaysia191342273925173274
Mexico15013029947144257750
Norway1617416140306666
Russia4537836847398597
Saudi Arabia4760981160112
Singapore5745102771065417376
South Africa17324451991614
South Korea53591271217093158191
Switzerland289255540629651306870969
Taiwan32195745274966106
Thailand1212222329426565
Turkey49801191364775125160
USA3,0264,2717,9859,1821,1871,1672,2052,302
Other countries443465883789197328411530
Country unknown611723979241275387
Total Non-EU (excl UK)5,7166,60013,64914,2813,0923,4046,1016,638
         
Total11,56512,35226,54725,6957,9716,46715,07912,617
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. February 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
2 Includes estimates for traders below the Intrastat threshold and transactions where the EU country was not specified.
3 From February 2020 the United Kingdom exited the EU, therefore the EU total is made up of the 27 remaining member states. For data comparability over time the EU are shown separately for both the current and prior periods.
4 Euro-zone members from January 2015: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
5 China includes Hong Kong and Macao.
6 Trade for which the country of origin or country of final destination is unknown.
Table 5 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity and principal countries1
€million
  ExportsImports
Country by Section level of SITCFebFebJan-FebJan-FebFebFebJan-FebJan-Feb
20202021202020212020202120202021
Great Britain9668592,0611,8121,3926502,7951,206
0Food and live animals28920357039424989498153
1Beverages and tobacco151329231482813
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels313661631863511
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials1321805418761383169
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes11324273
5Chemicals and related products22522650566315885339161
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material756615012516596342174
7Machinery and transport equipment203192411293346194661315
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles879720218317789356164
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere2655111752214743
EU 2724,7154,66110,4989,1673,3422,1305,8764,309
0Food and live animals275324553569230226467435
1Beverages and tobacco3333615922224543
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels466910912223274450
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials13205547504790100
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes4581012142625
5Chemicals and related products3,2613,2287,4566,5235935561,1721,070
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material5363108122156146300272
7Machinery and transport equipment5574661,1708741,9938303,2141,818
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles449429930795193199375370
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere242349467062141125
USA3,0264,2717,9859,1821,1871,1672,2052,302
0Food and live animals2024465219262740
1Beverages and tobacco4750128981122
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels12333478
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials0000983125784
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes----0000
5Chemicals and related products2,0563,4356,0037,633268416591726
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1613322634306761
7Machinery and transport equipment3972817874796365531,0121,185
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles485465978888119104224189
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere4283103178
China39456801,7421,556351483944931
0Food and live animals555613210342115
1Beverages and tobacco10210000
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels23673265
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials----0000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes01010000
5Chemicals and related products17695231297255865120
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material426333518596
7Machinery and transport equipment6184391,224971183240540466
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles898514017396129224238
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere000070130
Rest of World1,9131,8814,2613,9781,6982,0363,2593,869
0Food and live animals220247435474143182288317
1Beverages and tobacco2224424520204442
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels2837546929226153
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials25397790518188144
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes1233761411
5Chemicals and related products1,0469302,1242,2458856161,3291,456
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material40648011568104173204
7Machinery and transport equipment2813299485322888027311,224
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles224200446395189197495407
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere25951101873610
         
Total11,56512,35226,54725,6957,9716,46715,07912,617
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. February 2021 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
2 Includes estimates for traders below the Intrastat threshold and transactions where the EU country was not specified.
3 China includes Hong Kong and Macao.
Table 6 Goods Exports by industrial origin and area of destination
€million
Industrial origin and areaExports
FebFebJan-FebJan-Feb
2020202120202021
Agricultural produce5655811,1651,065
Great Britain and Northern Ireland243194474360
EU1206257420443
USA17234250
Rest of World99107229212
     
Forestry and fishing produce7071113135
Great Britain and Northern Ireland19263446
EU124274253
USA0000
Rest of World27183637
     
Industrial produce10,86911,66425,10224,378
Great Britain and Northern Ireland8338621,8111,803
EU14,4644,3529,9948,622
USA3,0084,2477,9419,130
Rest of World2,5642,2035,3574,823
     
Unclassified exports6136167117
     
Total11,56512,35226,54725,695
1EU excluding Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Table 7 Goods Imports by main use and area of origin
€million
Main use and area of originImports
FebFebJan-FebJan-Feb
2020202120202021
Producers capital goods ready for use2,3291,1633,8752,539
Great Britain and Northern Ireland20794361153
EU11,6025422,4171,217
USA375292580737
Rest of World144236516432
     
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco5064021,026744
Great Britain and Northern Ireland262156511272
EU1202196412369
USA3569
Rest of World40469795
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,1701,1892,5182,283
Great Britain and Northern Ireland307207654361
EU1412400768755
USA125179290355
Rest of World326402807812
     
Materials for further production - agriculture207231399396
Great Britain and Northern Ireland48349358
EU17886139168
USA18343656
Rest of World6377131114
Materials for further production - other3,5843,3936,9146,475
Great Britain and Northern Ireland6294201,317781
EU19788431,9981,674
USA6606571,2801,142
Rest of World1,3181,4722,3192,878
     
Unclassified imports17590346179
     
Total7,9716,46715,07912,617
1EU excluding Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Background Notes

Introduction

Goods Exports and Imports statistics 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. The collection of trade data is the responsibility of VIMA (a branch of Revenue). The CSO is responsible for processing and disseminating the data.

Revisions to the Trade in Goods statistics

Since May 2015, significant revisions were incorporated into International Trade in Goods statistics. While the most significant revision is due to recording trade in aircraft on a "transfer of economic ownership" basis, other revisions were incorporated into the Trade data back to 2000. 

Along with the aircraft revisions Goods Exports revisions also include upward revisions due to revaluing some products that had previously been recorded on a “transfer of economic ownership” basis, which was not in line with goods statistics methodology. Also Goods Imports revisions include downward revisions due to a change in the estimation methodology for non-response.

The technical note gives more detail on the revised trade in aircraft methodology and explains the impact the revisions will have on Trade in Goods, National Accounts and Balance of Payments.

Standard Revisions

Trade figures are subject to revision on the incorporation of late Intrastat and VAT returns and corrections made by traders. When the preliminary results for a month are published, the results for months -1 (January 2021 in this publication), -4 (October 2020) and -8 (June 2020) are revised. Following the move to a "transfer of economic ownership" basis for recording exports and imports of aircraft, SITC 79 figures are subject to revision on the incorporation of transactions from quarterly Balance of Payments (BoP) surveys. Such revisions will generally be incorporated into Goods Exports and Imports releases that coincide with quarterly BoP publications, i.e. when initial results are published for January, April, July and October.

Intrastat System

The Intrastat system has two components. Firstly, the Intrastat survey (conducted by the Revenue Commissioners), in which traders, above the Intrastat survey trade thresholds, make detailed monthly returns giving information on the quantity and value of all exports to or imports from EU countries.

The total number of traders required to make a detailed import return is around 5,200 while around 2,200 must make a detailed export return. The response rate in terms of number of traders in February 2021 was 57%, covering an estimated 89% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for February is published).

The second component of the Intrastat system is the regular VAT return, on which all traders are required to record the total value of goods imported from and exported to other EU countries. This information provides the basis for determining total EU trade for those traders below the Intrastat survey thresholds. It is also used to maintain the register of EU traders.

Extrastat System

The statistics of trade with non-EU countries are compiled from the documents supplied by importers and exporters to the Customs authorities. The document is the Single Administrative Document (SAD) used for Customs clearance purposes.

Estimation

The figures in this release include estimates for traders above the Intrastat thresholds who did not make detailed returns for the period and for traders below the thresholds who did not provide aggregate intra-EU trade figures on their VAT returns.

Estimates for Intrastat non-respondents are apportioned to individual commodities and countries whenever previous Intrastat returns are available. Estimates for traders below the Intrastat thresholds are assigned to partner country where possible, but not to commodity.

More information is now being processed on lower value transactions. Prior to January 2012, transactions below €254 were grouped together, this value has now decreased to €127. Therefore, this has resulted in more detail being available at commodity level in Table 3 and at country level in Tables 4 and 5.

Unit Value Indices

The monthly unit value index measures monthly unit value trends relative to the annual levels in the preceding year using value weights relating to that year’s trade (Laspeyres index).

The annual index is compiled using value weights for both the current and previous year (Fisher index) to allow for change in the structure of trade in goods.

The monthly index series should be regarded as interim measures suitable for month-to-month comparisons within a given year. Previous monthly indices are revised when late returns are received.

When the annual unit value index is compiled, the monthly unit value indices are rescaled to make their average equal to the annual index.

The unit value index series has been rebased to 2010 from 1990. In the course of this rebasing, a detailed examination of the series was undertaken. This exercise has produced a number of modifications enabling production of a more robust series.

Seasonally Adjusted Series

In the April 2020 release the seasonal adjustment methodology for trade in goods data was updated from X-11 to X-13-ARIMA model. The X-13-ARIMA method is implemented in JDEMETRA+, the standard Eurostat software package for Seasonal Adjustment.

X-13-ARIMA incorporates significant new types of modelling capability for the issues commonly faced in seasonal adjustment, and also produces sophisticated diagnostics to help improve seasonal adjustment.

The seasonally adjusted series have been revised back to January 2010 using the new methodology.

Methodology

There are methodological differences between the measurement of exports and imports in this release compared with Industrial Production, National Accounts and Balance of Payments statistics. This release records the movement of all goods over the frontier at the valuation placed on the goods at the time of crossing the frontier. Industrial Production, National Accounts and Balance of Payments statistics take account of additional aspects of cross-frontier activities such as goods sent abroad for processing where goods cross the frontier without change of ownership. The CSO releases for those statistics provide more information on their methodology.

Services Exports and Imports

The quarterly Balance of Payments (BoP) statistics provide detail on Services exports and imports.

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