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For more information on this release:
E-mail: Trade@cso.ie Orla.McCarthy@cso.ie Ciarán.Counihan@cso.ie
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information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5155
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Goods Exports and Imports

February 2022

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
January 202215,60010,2285,373
February 202216,1129,9716,141
% change3.3-2.514.3
Value change512-257769

Seasonally adjusted goods trade exports increased by over €500 million in February 2022

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

Seasonally adjusted goods exports increased by €512 million (+3%) to €16,112 million in February 2022 compared with January 2022, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €257 million (-3%) to €9,971 million leading to an increase of €769 million (+14%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €6,141 million in February 2022 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 €3.5 billion in February 2022 compared with February 2021

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for February 2022 was €15,792 million representing an increase of €3,476 million (+28%) when compared with February 2021. The value of goods exports for the period January and February 2022 was €32,093 million, an increase of €6,449 million (+25%) when compared with the first two months of 2021.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €1,312 million (+29%) to €5,887 million in February 2022 compared with February 2021. This represented 37% of total exports.

Exports of Organic chemicals increased by €940 million (+39%) to €3,353 million.

Exports of Food and live animals increased by €166 million (+21%) to €953 million over the same comparative period.

Exports of Electrical machinery, apparatus, appliances and parts increased by €282 million (+33%) to €1,146 million (see Table 3).

Imports increased by over €2 billion in February 2022 compared with February 2021

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for February 2022 was €8,698 million representing an increase of €2,051 million (+31%) when compared with February 2021. The value of goods imports for January and February of 2022 was €17,998 million, which is an increase of €4,911 million (+38%) compared with January and February 2021.

Imports of Mineral fuels increased by €528 million (+240%) to €749 million in February 2022 compared with February 2021.

Imports of Organic chemicals increased by €253 million (+43%) to €846 million over the same comparative period.

Imports of Food and live animals increased by €85 million (+16%) to €609 million (see Table 3).

The value of goods imports for February 2022 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €7,905 million, an increase of €1,970 million (+33%) when compared with the corresponding February 2021 figure of €5,935 million (see Table 3).

Exports to Great Britain of over €1 billion in February 2022

Exports to Great Britain in February 2022 were €1,025 million, an increase of €177 million (+21%) compared with February 2021. The main change was an increase in the exports of Food and live animals (see Table 5). Exports to Great Britain accounted for 6% of total exports in February 2022.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first two months of 2022 was €2,431 million, an increase of €635 million (+35%) on the first two months of 2021.

Imports from Great Britain increased by €686 million (84%) to €1,508 million compared with February 2021. The main increases were in the imports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, Chemicals and related products and Machinery and transport equipment (see Table 5). Imports from Great Britain were 17% of the value of total imports in February 2022.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for January to February 2022 was €3,314 million, an increase of €1,754 million (+112%) compared with January to February 2021.

Imports from Northern Ireland of over €700 million in the first two months of 2022

Imports from Northern Ireland in the first two months of 2022 increased by €196 million (+37%) to €732 million when compared with January to February 2021.

Exports to Northern Ireland were €710 million in the period January to February 2022, an increase of €265 million (+60%) on the same period in 2021 (see Table 5). 

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €6,316 million (40%) of total goods exports in February 2022 of which €2,530 million went to Germany and €1,074 million went to Belgium. Total EU exports in February 2022 increased by €1,673 million (+36%) compared with February 2021.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,826 million (31%) of total exports in February 2022.

The EU accounted for €2,663 million (31%) of total goods imports in February 2022, which is an increase of €441 million (+20%) compared with February 2021.

The UK with €1,925 million (22%), the USA with €1,206 million (14%), Switzerland with €730 million (8%) and China with €701 million (8%) were the main non-EU sources of imports (see Table 4).

%
NI2.29085931875448
GB6.4905966090865
EU2739.992738169193
US30.5608574485848
Rest of World20.6649484543812
%
NI4.78361012929189
GB17.3427794956572
EU2730.612387985269
US13.866912098507
Rest of
World
33.3943102912749
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
Sep 20205.5039265438922.4917830271.270070754553094.724914438
Oct 20204.81805991760172.626554495000011.22090737845893.56454735
Nov 20206.021616263259082.64785531.695028676538974.553828941
Dec 20205.006680192712032.2638800311.37826576046933.701794393
Jan 20214.506236241177442.7276752561.162929857082784.932282209
Feb 20214.642070998198852.3432439821.077839088384824.252122179
Mar 20215.710691566330182.8991169021.555858518181134.542633046
Apr 20214.907132634668442.456983960000011.349188522326513.57577931
May 20215.454788102699732.6899964281.501400880562473.90149927
Jun 20215.602143243949043.1127727041.753209936016544.281263191
Jul 20214.526851182794343.1345597571.790837127557283.750234214
Aug 20214.853425600656522.7857946491.303596553614044.229442456
Sep 20215.84611269813112.7936636461.717869906154254.346289045
Oct 20215.083220157806492.6568815041.396028344677345.714491727
Nov 20215.6973678154882.7636026822.04248457650134.949828165
Dec 20214.597053594513492.9126578181.476770773647183.945519212
Jan 20226.350976498959162.8235605231.754722661744655.372329343
Feb 20226.315506081161733.2633326351.386735213755744.826058177
X-axis labelEU 27Rest of WorldUKUS
Sep 20202.076002213153771.587480596098521.629320270561471.17098126835251
Oct 20202.372589103307851.903042215740732.255044879217721.1290342639743
Nov 20203.46545869996792.655871623180892.123676705989491.09758476189086
Dec 20203.347811892335542.043576188516462.126101054414981.48609245314246
Jan 20212.221333590981842.02561792527370.959108878255861.23461466810489
Feb 20212.22163630607962.040335588116911.136962802884071.24780358320128
Mar 20213.223804205724072.684320348989141.700308598101581.61071404313418
Apr 20212.818468024699772.706764477614571.489200575880161.23441473238069
May 20213.41812880199522.340162514374051.553997127353571.44673599207556
Jun 20213.686537758305623.12188091276261.778374552956661.30265117268739
Jul 20212.791743766344012.209228411696831.458667579085141.33649898302701
Aug 20212.144279270205792.47215954017111.621605506654211.58098693302229
Sep 20212.482049357773062.525658104334431.715827951116511.63327801599282
Oct 20212.60814093992542.76549125157751.908068262661791.57179060465675
Nov 20213.303267691447143.299415217346551.909759949637451.55171638268088
Dec 20213.312755302002723.148435264448382.163268774015282.17559744508009
Jan 20222.700995572301423.256985296165982.121480577465551.22087599407626
Feb 20222.662643381539792.904612973053171.924537377501941.20613399187451

Exports by industrial origin and Imports by main use

Industrial produce accounted for €14,861 million (94%) of total exports in February 2022. This is an increase of €3,213 million (+28%) when compared with February 2021. There was €5,876 million of this exported to the EU, €4,797 million to the USA and €1,052 million to the UK. Agricultural produce accounted for €698 million (4%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €1,399 million (16%) of total imports in February 2022, an increase of €167 million (+14%) when compared with February 2021.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €2,159 million (25%) of total imports, and Materials for further production accounted for €4,888 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. 

 

From 1st January 2021 all trade in goods with Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) is treated as non-EU trade and must be reported to Revenue’s Customs declaration systems. Prior to this, 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 reported on the Intrastat survey and on VAT returns.

The results reflect both new data collection methods and changes in trading patterns due to Brexit. We are continuing to work on quality improvements as we incorporate the new data sources and detail available to us from January 2021. The latest results also include revisions to imports from Great Britain for 2021 as some trade that was previously recorded with unknown country of origin has been revised to trade with Great Britain.

Table 1 Goods Exports and Imports summary analysis
Period€millionBase year 2010=100
Value1Volume index2Unit value index2Terms of trade3
ExportsImportsTrade surplusExportsImportsExportsImports
2016119,29274,29644,996 125.6  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
2020162,13187,06575,066 188.6  194.4  94.4  91.7  103.0
2021165,253102,89462,360..........
          
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
          
2020January14,9897,1087,882 207.1  185.4  95.5  94.5  101.1
February11,5707,9713,599 166.4  215.7  91.7  91.1  100.7
March17,6646,66710,997 236.9  175.7  98.4  93.5  105.2
April11,3435,5715,772 160.3  147.7  93.3  93.0  100.4
May12,8756,1536,722 180.3  163.8  94.2  92.6  101.7
June13,6476,7506,897 182.4  175.4  98.7  94.8  104.1
July13,6178,3785,239 191.8  221.6  93.7  93.1  100.5
August12,9355,9996,937 182.8  164.5  93.3  89.9  103.8
September13,9916,4647,527 196.7  166.0  94.0  94.1  99.9
October12,2307,6604,570 173.8  210.0  92.9  89.2  104.1
November14,9189,3435,576 211.3  261.4  92.8  87.7  105.8
December12,3519,0043,347 170.0  252.6  94.8  87.0  108.9
          
20214January13,3296,4416,888 206.8  175.8  85.1  88.6  96.1
February12,3156,6475,669 178.7  181.8  91.1  90.1  101.1
March14,7089,2195,489 225.1  237.4  86.3  95.8  90.1
April12,2898,2494,040 184.0  215.9  88.2  94.2  93.6
May13,5488,7594,789 199.9  229.0  88.9  90.0  98.8
June14,7499,8894,860 223.2  253.5  87.1  95.7  91.1
July13,2037,7965,406 185.5  206.1  93.9  93.2  100.8
August13,1727,8195,353 184.4  206.9  94.1  93.7  100.4
September14,7048,3576,347 199.7  209.0  97.2  98.7  98.5
October14,8518,8545,997 198.1  226.6  98.9  96.0  103.0
November15,45310,0645,389 216.7  252.1  94.2  98.2  95.9
December12,93210,8002,132 182.7  273.0  93.4  97.1  96.2
         
20224January16,3029,3007,001..........
 February15,7928,6987,094..........
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 2022 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
.. Indices not yet available.
Table 2 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted1 series
Period€millionBase year 2010=100
ValueVolume index
ExportsImportsTrade surplusExportsImports
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
July13,1668,1255,041 186.0  225.2
August14,1137,1226,992 198.3  197.0
September13,6016,4967,105 193.6  159.5
October12,3877,2565,130 171.7  200.8
November14,5228,7555,767 200.7  258.7
December12,9727,6455,328 185.2  213.4
       
2021January13,0067,4825,525 210.1  201.4
February12,8627,5725,290 189.4  205.8
March13,4448,1665,277 199.3  212.6
April12,7448,3304,414 185.2  223.9
May13,6958,6465,049 201.6  238.5
June13,9619,0444,917 206.9  233.4
July13,6038,3145,289 193.6  213.5
August14,1208,7765,344 197.5  226.8
September14,3618,5555,807 197.2  216.8
October15,0558,9056,150 200.6  223.5
November14,8339,4245,409 199.8  228.6
December13,3589,6723,687 192.7  236.9
      
2022January15,60010,2285,373....
 February16,1129,9716,141....
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
20212022202120222021202220212022
0Food and live animals7879531,5011,8855246099621,342
 00Live animals other than animals of Division 03264541671292321
 01Meat and meat preparations2953485517025475101150
 02Dairy products and birds' eggs1402042684147676133173
 03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof5051989115193141
 04Cereals and cereal preparations4252841016792136229
 05Vegetables and fruit2426485385100168206
 06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey910171923334265
 07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof33317060375670107
 08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)3238727811093176238
 09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations136150253301455682112
1Beverages and tobacco119150221316497198137
 11Beverages 119150220315456791128
 12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures00004478
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1511432823236594134183
 21Hides, skins and furskins, raw479140000
 22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 20531224
 23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 45691122
 24Cork and wood2126394614223444
 25Pulp and waste paper5712141236
 26Textile fibres and their wastes141424251122
 27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)912202212182136
 28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap826114816811203140
 29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes1012202325284049
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials69931512452207495801,637
 32Coal, coke and briquettes971915741757
 33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials5361117177155411433778
 34Gas, natural and manufactured112150314113764
 35Electric current52414528191738
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes810152022364170
 41Animal oils and fats7814161337
 42Fixed vegetable fats and oils122318323460
 43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes01012153
5Chemicals and related products7,93310,20317,39021,0211,7432,2043,5574,493
 51Organic chemicals2,4133,3534,8265,9905928461,4821,834
 52Inorganic chemicals1170309525314861
 53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials1110212019253548
 54Medical and pharmaceutical products4,5755,88710,51913,1927738441,3301,565
 55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations5666071,1891,19395107183213
 56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)1112358571194
 57Plastics in primary forms3031606074104142208
 58Plastics in non-primary forms57722051335579106166
 59Chemical materials and products nes2701725403357582160203
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1962483745034346888261,428
 61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins31532255
 62Rubber manufactures nes1427285933416484
 63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)2936557523344472
 64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof141825356392118192
 65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products11132323446285122
 66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes41477498477890160
 67Iron and steel1318253560101122223
 68Non-ferrous metals101620304212480259
 69Manufactures of metals nes6272119143119155218310
7Machinery and transport equipment1,7422,1983,1864,2152,6733,0305,0986,191
 71Power generating machinery and equipment92190216274154220257389
 72Machinery specialised for particular industries6057104114127174244345
 73Metalworking machinery32549111623
 74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes130145241279185211346429
 75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)294381643812341355685774
 76Telecommunications and sound equipment8488145162155184311409
 77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts8641,1461,5602,2576636829001,393
 78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)30414880327399690852
 79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)1851472242337127931,6491,576
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,2561,6222,4263,2227599641,4762,006
 81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings1410252124384879
 82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc12152631457090149
 83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers23459141829
 84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories13232345157195315403
 85Footwear243630436181
 87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5196771,0171,367164178305362
 88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks11813023226540477295
 89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes5777611,0961,482289379568808
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere121918411272319
Unclassified estimates24215279303146246291493
           
Total12,31515,79225,64432,0936,6478,69813,08717,998
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. February 2022 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
20212022202120222021202220212022
Austria3423595435275451
Belgium9661,0742,2582,784129164264322
Bulgaria9818173367
Croatia431061426
Cyprus263161012
Czech Republic4573831065651141122
Denmark48359068534699115
Estonia22351123
Finland2813483110122335
France4267457921,5844525361,0651,273
Germany1,4502,5302,5414,4226168211,1041,415
Greece192214758791214
Hungary 2213495628225045
Italy 322299745594148172297378
Latvia581116551310
Lithuania67151414192131
Luxembourg6612124499
Malta43861223
Netherlands7558751,3111,635286267563555
Poland1071362103135983118173
Portugal2525555718244251
Romania38427462781819
Slovakia910212056912
Slovenia1824334684117
Spain179151345304133178248340
Sweden83551501288279147138
EU Country not specified2301275725361116122229
Total EU2734,6426,3169,14812,6662,2222,6634,4435,364
Euro-Zone44,2565,8238,40711,6581,8712,2513,7394,511
         
Great Britain8481,0251,7962,4318221,5081,5603,314
Northern Ireland230362445710315416536732
Total UK1,0781,3872,2413,1411,1371,9252,0964,046
         
Australia5558115130571113
Brazil181937378232545
Canada76269181386592210387
China57161,1131,5912,0794977019761,652
India27365280479295173
Japan223207483475100158201385
Malaysia131927392513727473
Mexico11815845929025365077
Norway1726345431416778
Russia366268124395698186
Saudi Arabia60671161141425
Singapore45577712155207733
South Africa322750619202340
South Korea5911212017572106170278
Switzerland2553946317023227309971,162
Taiwan192445735068107153
Thailand1218233443426683
Turkey80961351517690163246
USA4,2524,8269,18410,1981,2481,2062,4822,427
Other countries4654927889453216225321,313
Country unknown61710391929313079
Total Non-EU (excl UK)6,5958,08914,25516,2853,2884,1116,5488,589
         
Total12,31515,79225,64432,0936,6478,69813,08717,998
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. February 2022 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
20212022202120222021202220212022
Great Britain8481,0251,7962,4318221,5081,5603,314
0Food and live animals203285394541110154188311
1Beverages and tobacco131623299161530
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels363964787101319
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials95141149614262451,026
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes11232539
5Chemicals and related products228240666825130222232643
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material6983129165117179214347
7Machinery and transport equipment193203295414247321393598
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles96105181225139171256324
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere11131317
Northern Ireland230362445710315416536732
0Food and live animals831111622278893159204
1Beverages and tobacco86121412172532
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels101520248121523
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials719154415302960
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes11233357
5Chemicals and related products4479851438414298173
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material3347639436466891
7Machinery and transport equipment2039387420233844
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1833346315193037
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere712132533316761
EU 2724,6426,3169,14812,6662,2222,6634,4435,364
0Food and live animals260301472587215234427485
1Beverages and tobacco3035527220263951
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels745513913631375468
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials202347244843108101
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes5691213202538
5Chemicals and related products3,2584,5726,5509,3015585841,0661,256
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material6377123148143208272396
7Machinery and transport equipment4675478771,0728931,0631,8582,091
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4295578101,028187237365465
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere3614369285115210229413
USA4,2524,8269,18410,1981,2481,2062,4822,427
0Food and live animals2337526826324069
1Beverages and tobacco5065981451224
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels233545812
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials00003116184210
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes-0-00000
5Chemicals and related products3,4353,7617,6428,118424405743771
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1322265330386277
7Machinery and transport equipment2803774936746184551,298989
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4465598661,132109107234292
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere213351112
China37161,1131,5912,0794977019761,652
0Food and live animals56421038528518
1Beverages and tobacco01120000
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels3571124511
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials----0000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes10100000
5Chemicals and related products9419229429559102130252
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material23355387100189
7Machinery and transport equipment4777361,0091,435242307475749
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles85133173245137191260421
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere000001010
Rest of World1,6272,1513,4804,0071,5432,2043,0904,510
0Food and live animals1621783183778387143255
1Beverages and tobacco17263453791620
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels2726496714253950
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials33148286688114240
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes111248715
5Chemicals and related products8751,3592,1522,3394877481,2881,398
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1716313754131109327
7Machinery and transport equipment3052964745476528601,0361,718
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles183235362529171239332467
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere913102848619
         
Total12,31515,79225,64432,0936,6478,69813,08717,998
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. February 2022 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
2021202220212022
Agricultural produce5486981,0351,389
Great Britain and Northern Ireland194290369560
EU1226268406526
USA23295054
Rest of World105111210250
     
Forestry and fishing produce7278138139
Great Britain and Northern Ireland26314656
EU128315555
USA0101
Rest of World18153727
     
Industrial produce11,64814,86124,36230,253
Great Britain and Northern Ireland8471,0521,7852,495
EU14,3535,8768,62111,806
USA4,2284,7979,13210,143
Rest of World2,2203,1374,8235,810
     
Unclassified exports47155110312
     
Total12,31515,79225,64432,093
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
2021202220212022
Producers capital goods ready for use1,2321,3992,6362,844
Great Britain and Northern Ireland114150179266
EU15987531,2541,469
USA352134843410
Rest of World168362361698
     
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco3945077441,034
Great Britain and Northern Ireland170237299479
EU1185206357418
USA56912
Rest of World355779125
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,2471,6522,4213,389
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2975575231,069
EU1384432739857
USA188154408289
Rest of World3785097511,174
     
Materials for further production - agriculture222266400596
Great Britain and Northern Ireland41577899
EU18390160202
USA34345773
Rest of World6485104222
Materials for further production - other3,3994,6226,5839,628
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4818919482,066
EU18589731,7062,008
USA6688771,1631,640
Rest of World1,3921,8812,7663,914
     
Unclassified imports152252303507
     
Total6,6478,69813,08717,998
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 2022 in this publication) and -6 (August 2021) 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 2022 was 70%, covering an estimated 91% 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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