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For more information on this release:
E-mail: Trade@cso.ie Ciarán Counihan (+353) 1 498 4215 Damian Malone (+353) 1 498 4206
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5155
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Goods Exports and Imports

July 2018

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
February 201811,0007,1063,894
March 201810,4896,5123,977
April 201811,1136,7534,359
May 201811,7146,4925,222
June 201811,7988,0663,732
July 201811,8467,8763,970

Trade exports increase in July

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

The (unadjusted) value of goods exports for July 2018 was €11,021 million representing an increase of €1,843 million (+20%) when compared with July 2017. The value of goods exports for the period January to July 2018 was €80,329 million, an increase of €7,969 million (+11%), when compared with the first seven months of 2017.
 
Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €993 million (+37%) to €3,662 million in July 2018 when compared with July 2017.
 
Exports of Organic chemicals increased by €534 million (+41%) to €1,834 million.
 
Exports of Office machines and automatic data processing machines increased by €68 million (+24%) to €350 million in July 2018, over the same comparative period.

Imports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increase in July

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for July 2018 was €7,593 million representing an increase of €2,180 million (+40%), when compared with July 2017. The value of goods imports for the period January to July 2018 was €49,306 million, an increase of €3,493 million (+8%), when compared with the same period of 2017.
 
Imports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €676 million (+118%) to €1,247 million compared with July 2017.
 
Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft increased by €1,064 million (+163%) to €1,715 million.
 
Imports of Office machines and automatic data processing machines were valued at €464 million in July 2018, an increase of €211 (+84%) over the same comparative period.
 
The value of goods imports for July 2018 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €5,878 million, an increase of €1,117 million (+23%) when compared with the corresponding July 2017 figure.

Seasonally adjusted goods exports increase slightly in July

Seasonally adjusted goods exports increased by €48 million (+0.4%) to €11,846 million in July 2018, according to preliminary figures.
 
Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €190 million (-2%) to €7,876 million leading to an increase of €238 million (+6%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €3,970 million in July 2018 (see Table 2).

Exports to Great Britain increase in July

Exports to Great Britain increased by €56 million (+5%) to €1,166 million in July 2018, when compared with July 2017.  This was due mainly to an increase in exports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.

Exports to Great Britain for the period January to July 2018 were €7,923 million, representing a decrease of €443 million (-5%) when compared with January to July of 2017. 
 
Imports from Great Britain increased by €97 million (+7%) to €1,429 million in July 2018, when compared with July 2017.  There was an increase in the imports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and a smaller increase in the imports of Chemicals and related products and Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material (see Table 5).
 
Imports from Great Britain for the period January to July 2018 were €10,157 million, an increase of €387 million (+4%) when compared with the first seven months of 2017.  

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €5,652 million (51%) of total exports in July 2018, of which €1,440 million went to Belgium and €725 million went to Germany. Exports to EU countries increased by €749 million (+15%) compared with July 2017.

Imports from the EU were valued €4,801 (63%) of total imports in July 2018, which is an increase of €1,435 million (+43%) over the same comparative period.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €3,065 million (28%) of total exports in July 2018.

The USA with €940 million (12%) and China with €523 million (7%) were the main non-EU sources of imports.

NOTE: From the October 2017 External trade release, the CSO have expanded the range of detailed trade data available on CSO’s StatBank.  The extra detail includes further breakdown of trade at SITC2 level by country and area.  The countries and area for which this detail is available are those included in Table 4 of the release.  The data is available on a month by month basis for the periods January 2015 to the latest month of release and on an annual basis from 2010 to 2017.  Links to these data are contained within the body of the release.  The latest month's data should be treated as provisional.  For queries on trade with countries not included in the list, please contact trade@cso.ie.
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
2016119,29274,13145,162 125.6  158.2  102.7  93.3  110.2
2017122,49179,12943,362 135.8  168.9  99.3  96.1  103.3
         
2015Quarter 126,04316,8649,179 110.0  138.6  104.0  99.9  104.2
 Quarter 228,70516,98311,721 114.7  134.9  110.1  103.6  106.4
 Quarter 327,47716,73810,739 114.5  134.9  105.5  102.1  103.5
 Quarter 430,18319,52610,657 123.6  168.1  107.4  95.4  112.5
2016Quarter 127,81317,60010,214 119.5  158.0  100.7  89.4  112.6
 Quarter 230,30718,91911,388 129.0  159.5  102.0  94.8  107.6
 Quarter 330,36118,10612,254 126.5  152.5  103.6  94.2  110.1
 Quarter 430,81219,50611,306 127.6  162.8  104.6  94.7  110.5
2017Quarter 132,14119,22212,919 137.0  160.2  103.3  98.4  104.9
 Quarter 231,04121,1809,862 134.2  182.1  101.9  95.6  106.7
 Quarter 328,98317,85211,131 129.1  152.0  98.1  94.9  103.4
 Quarter 430,32620,8769,451 141.0  176.8  93.8  95.4  98.2
2018Quarter 133,82620,29513,531 158.7  176.7  93.8  94.3  99.5
 Quarter 235,48221,41914,063 167.7  182.3  93.0  96.5  96.5
  
2015January8,2905,3682,922 106.3  131.7  102.9  100.5  102.4
 February8,3485,1363,212 106.9  129.5  103.0  97.8  105.4
 March9,4056,3603,045 116.8  154.6  106.2  101.4  104.8
 April9,6145,6373,977 115.0  131.8  110.3  105.4  104.6
 May9,1805,5353,645 109.5  127.7  110.6  106.8  103.6
 June9,9115,8114,099 119.5  145.3  109.4  98.5  111.0
 July9,4135,7653,648 115.1  138.3  107.9  102.7  105.0
 August8,6265,2093,416 112.1  122.5  101.6  104.8  97.0
 September9,4385,7633,675 116.3  143.8  107.1  98.7  108.5
 October10,7546,3364,418 128.0  164.7  110.9  94.8  116.9
 November10,1796,1963,983 128.2  158.0  104.8  96.6  108.4
 December9,2516,9942,256 114.5  181.6  106.6  94.9  112.3
         
2016January8,8935,1363,757 120.9  142.6  95.6  87.0  110.0
 February8,5665,4733,093 105.0  144.4  106.0  91.6  115.8
 March10,3546,9913,364 132.6  187.0  100.6  89.7  112.1
 April10,0535,5854,468 125.8  144.6  104.1  93.4  111.5
 May9,3856,4042,982 123.6  164.7  99.0  94.2  105.0
 June10,8686,9303,938 137.7  169.3  102.8  96.7  106.4
 July9,4115,7313,680 120.4  144.2  101.9  96.2  106.0
 August10,4645,7154,750 130.8  146.1  103.4  93.1  111.1
 September10,4866,6613,824 128.2  167.1  105.6  93.4  113.1
 October10,1995,7004,499 129.3  142.6  103.1  95.9  107.5
 November11,2017,2363,965 140.6  183.9  104.1  94.4  110.3
 December9,4126,5702,842 113.0  162.0  106.6  93.7  113.8
         
20174January9,9045,8154,089 122.8  144.7  106.4  98.9  107.6
 February10,2006,3403,860 135.1  158.7  99.6  98.3  101.3
March12,0377,0674,970 153.0  177.2  103.9  98.1  105.8
April9,8636,6583,205 122.6  167.2  106.2  98.0  108.4
May10,5617,4373,124 139.3  193.4  100.0  94.7  105.7
June10,6187,0853,533 140.6  185.6  99.6  94.0  106.0
July9,1785,4123,766 117.4  140.2  103.2  95.1  108.5
August9,6176,0993,518 126.1  153.9  98.2  93.6  104.9
September10,1886,3413,847 143.8  161.8  93.0  96.1  96.8
October9,6456,8182,827 143.2  180.8  88.3  92.5  95.5
November10,8497,2263,623 151.6  187.0  95.0  96.0  98.9
December9,8336,8323,001 128.3  162.7  98.0  97.7  100.3
        
20184January12,0696,5025,567 166.1  170.9  95.9  93.7  102.3
 February10,3886,5263,862 144.0  169.9  95.2  94.7  100.6
 March11,3697,2674,102 166.1  189.3  90.3  94.6  95.5
 April10,9646,4764,487 161.6  162.1  89.5  98.4  91.0
 May11,7536,8424,911 165.4  181.8  93.8  92.8  101.1
 June12,7668,1014,665 176.0  203.0  95.8  98.3  97.4
 July11,0217,5933,429..........
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. July 2018 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
2015Quarter 126,28616,06210,224 112.0  130.9
 Quarter 228,46017,27111,189 112.9  134.8
 Quarter 327,21117,6129,599 113.7  143.5
 Quarter 430,82319,20511,618 125.8  167.6
2016Quarter 127,86616,66011,206 119.7  149.6
 Quarter 229,75919,07510,684 126.5  161.3
 Quarter 330,22119,04211,178 125.7  161.2
 Quarter 431,01019,26211,749 129.0  159.6
2017Quarter 132,94118,70314,239 137.6  154.3
 Quarter 230,23821,4738,765 131.1  186.1
 Quarter 329,33218,76310,569 131.4  162.1
 Quarter 430,30920,4219,887 142.2  170.7
2018Quarter 133,96820,51213,456 157.1  174.7
 Quarter 234,62421,31113,313 164.6  182.1
       
2015January8,6415,0073,633 110.1  126.5
 February8,9665,3163,650 115.2  130.5
 March8,6795,7392,941 110.6  135.6
 April9,7405,6784,061 117.7  129.0
 May9,3765,8873,489 107.8  133.7
 June9,3455,7063,639 113.3  141.7
 July9,0766,1022,974 113.6  147.5
 August9,1505,7253,425 117.8  137.4
 September8,9865,7863,200 109.6  145.7
 October10,8206,2504,570 128.0  165.5
 November9,5216,1083,413 120.4  158.1
 December10,4826,8463,635 129.0  179.1
       
2016January9,4495,0844,365 127.0  145.3
 February8,9445,5203,424 108.7  143.8
 March9,4736,0563,417 123.3  159.6
 April9,8755,7124,163 125.3  148.7
 May9,6436,5033,140 124.8  167.8
 June10,2416,8603,381 129.4  167.4
 July9,2026,1883,014 118.3  156.8
 August 10,6985,9784,720 132.1  155.2
 September10,3216,8763,444 126.7  171.6
 October10,3565,7914,565 130.1  144.4
 November10,4206,8483,572 130.0  171.3
 December10,2346,6233,612 127.0  163.1
       
2017January10,7745,6925,083 129.5  140.8
 February11,1236,8154,308 141.8  168.3
 March11,0446,1964,848 141.4  153.9
 April9,8607,1952,664 124.0  181.5
 May10,5597,2773,282 136.6  192.1
 June9,8197,0012,818 132.7  184.7
 July9,7295,7573,972 124.5  151.1
 August9,6906,4213,268 126.4  163.3
 September9,9146,5853,329 143.3  172.0
 October9,8396,5683,271 141.9  172.4
 November9,9626,7933,169 140.5  172.9
 December10,5087,0603,448 144.3  166.7
       
2018January12,4796,8955,585 168.8  175.0
 February11,0007,1063,894 149.7  182.3
 March10,4896,5123,977 152.9  166.8
 April11,1136,7534,359 167.6  171.7
 May11,7146,4925,222 162.3  176.0
 June11,7988,0663,732 163.8  198.5
 July11,8467,8763,970....
1 Based on seasonal patterns up to December 2017. Accordingly all values in this table may have been revised.
.. Indices not yet available.
Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity1
€million
SITC (Rev 4)ExportsImports
JulJulJan-JulJan-JulJulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
20172018201720182017201820172018
0Food and live animals9569166,4776,3345676014,0534,295
0Live animals other than animals of Division 03483620917319139275
1Meat and meat preparations2972962,1302,2227689552594
2Dairy products and birds' eggs2342471,3371,4596973461512
3Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof51433603472622172160
4Cereals and cereal preparations34312382268484619655
5Vegetables and fruit2621180191104115740771
6Sugars, sugar preparations and honey101291863428220210
7Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof33322162164147322327
8Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)29251821945677457550
9Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1941741,5351,2215655416441
1Beverages and tobacco1211197197177678480458
11Beverages 1211197167167073441441
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0031653917
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1511501,0381,1356978531540
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw10879630000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 1064221817
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 00101176
24Cork and wood13159010115169398
25Pulp and waste paper654435533328
26Textile fibres and their wastes101176772298
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)1311788313149692
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap87925896932123143148
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes11876791217132142
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials73815516384084292,7173,206
32Coal, coke and briquettes676270144127119
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials56514254443473282,1692,420
34Gas, natural and manufactured1310124386398581
35Electric current1019541134102286
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes6559412022158155
41Animal oils and fats54523511119
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils11761819135134
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0001111212
5Chemicals and related products5,0016,64840,45449,9351,2051,88310,42312,045
51Organic chemicals1,3001,83411,50115,3222492292,0431,940
52Inorganic chemicals1316811231829187187
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials3211217802219148129
54Medical and pharmaceutical products2,6703,66221,17726,8695711,2475,4837,177
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations6057024,7824,653124101830762
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)01482328259299
57Plastics in primary forms26372062597485562587
58Plastics in non-primary forms37452972975356369389
59Chemical materials and products nes3183402,1892,3247189543575
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1811901,3311,3584174572,8903,101
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins422215211111
62Rubber manufactures nes7747532629177196
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)24241661832425167167
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof131491917077497520
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products131491964141272289
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes32372782734651316331
67Iron and steel14151001095569418482
68Non-ferrous metals8959685051321352
69Manufactures of metals nes6868478470103113711753
7Machinery and transport equipment1,4091,46312,44110,5031,7823,15418,66119,500
71Power generating machinery and equipment72684255218879613526
72Machinery specialised for particular industries49684174311021647921,023
73Metalworking machinery4421177117180
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1581581,1071,1101291619331,037
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)2823501,9282,4162524641,9482,266
76Telecommunications and sound equipment7780571680135135882987
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts4004444,2932,8721992251,4831,558
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)23281912052192002,2382,215
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)3442643,4882,2496511,7159,7029,807
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,2091,2958,7608,9916687094,6124,691
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings101282862026148161
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc12151121094044277305
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers22161313128482
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories2215158110151155997990
85Footwear2323233635228234
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes4815413,5793,5661521559921,042
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1181167967993036250233
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes5635913,9954,2862262461,6341,644
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere15691852513544240287
Unclassified estimates255853464241651381,0501,029
           
Total9,17811,02172,36080,3295,4127,59345,81449,306
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. July 2018 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
JulJulJan-JulJan-JulJulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
20172018201720182017201820172018
Austria36282242582324175192
Belgium1,0711,4407,89910,337126128861965
Bulgaria7115160121317
Croatia4522281156
Cyprus22141501221
Czech Republic28362243193132235325
Denmark45603464193737252304
Estonia11121212711
Finland2319196185121910188
France4034002,9483,2126351,2606,0396,131
Germany7257255,9735,7804669684,0506,374
Great Britain1,1101,1668,3657,9231,3311,4299,77010,157
Greece2592171301674136
Hungary 3725180184113971204
Italy 2223481,5402,0111171301,0231,019
Latvia6102842453328
Lithuania121419564863
Luxembourg12186192351839
Malta23181091155
Netherlands4596293,3594,2981982761,3741,764
Northern Ireland1511641,1031,135115120792804
Poland113947046015155356348
Portugal57353022552121154123
Romania3431189208886149
Slovakia373045452530
Slovenia594346221816
Spain2151881,6121,491112103810967
Sweden49654365083262285466
EU country not specified258364561541254142327
Total EU4,9035,65236,52140,0463,3664,80126,76730,878
  of which United Kingdom1,2611,3309,4689,0571,4461,54910,56210,962
Euro-Zone33,2673,95924,43128,5081,7312,96314,73617,871
         
Australia13977553502554657
Brazil13221012061616108114
Canada931146558303626360320
China43954123,3832,8863605232,4522,836
India34222051908842419360
Japan1383511,2392,02898155743865
Malaysia16211061212641186214
Mexico1001278768441828176202
Norway47212532198676716490
Russia38412853152850224311
Saudi Arabia56424673321155
Singapore48694034081346111290
South Africa212613716411126666
South Korea47473453627360599390
Switzerland5642573,7054,0813468340365
Taiwan29201432033029164174
Thailand1213100853049233242
Turkey43463213993740341318
USA2,1153,06520,00022,5388309409,8227,911
Other countries3083472,3422,4521831591,3711,534
Country unknown5232302221,118434265661,363
Total Non-EU4,2765,36935,83940,2832,0462,79219,04618,428
         
Total9,17811,02172,36080,3295,4127,59345,81449,306
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. July 2018 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 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.
4 China includes Hong Kong and Macao.
5 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 SITCJulJulJan-JulJan-JulJulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
20172018201720182017201820172018
Great Britain1,1101,1668,3657,9231,3311,4299,77010,157
0Food and live animals3183092,1862,2442332401,6331,728
1Beverages and tobacco18161161102527155155
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels33412342691518111123
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials19642192651752321,3561,731
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes11711442827
5Chemicals and related products3513632,9152,4122162351,8891,565
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material73815625871471651,0471,124
7Machinery and transport equipment1721581,2731,1422512451,7391,867
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles961006706861741841,2041,237
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere28331841989279608601
Other EU23,7934,48628,15632,1242,0343,37216,99720,721
0Food and live animals3603722,3942,5132482691,7591,854
1Beverages and tobacco34352122163739234220
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels71815456092426188179
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials22161481564975232543
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes53502912139996
5Chemicals and related products2,2782,88816,88720,8284359993,4396,544
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material73775175521571671,0411,115
7Machinery and transport equipment4994674,0733,6558351,5568,4448,603
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4174813,0993,2561511511,0301,021
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere35652323128776531546
USA2,1153,06520,00022,5388309409,8227,911
0Food and live animals40342971681919119137
1Beverages and tobacco504629229111109
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels432723342927
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials1608477733141125
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0-000001
5Chemicals and related products1,2372,25412,35516,6213752753,5732,030
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2115150972937230243
7Machinery and transport equipment2812493,4511,9292874474,9554,556
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4604593,3083,302101109701702
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere5535309156381
China33954123,3832,8863605232,4522,836
0Food and live animals6671560446232223
1Beverages and tobacco00310000
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels654631322522
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials000500000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00110000
5Chemicals and related products6011354388726146173319
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2215284343270270
7Machinery and transport equipment2081641,9061,0831722111,2161,428
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5356308358109113707736
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere0000553937
Rest of World1,7661,89212,45614,8598561,3286,7737,682
0Food and live animals1731291,0419646470520553
1Beverages and tobacco2022969913108174
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels37211852042527177188
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials1511009017788988807
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0011553032
5Chemicals and related products1,0751,0317,7539,1861532281,3491,587
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material121486944245303349
7Machinery and transport equipment2484251,7382,6942376962,3063,047
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1831991,3761,390133151970995
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere25181136774850
         
Total9,17811,02172,36080,3295,4127,59345,81449,306
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. July 2018 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.

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 (June 2018 in this publication), -4 (March 2018) and -8 (November 2017) 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 July 2018 was 65%, covering an estimated 91% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for July 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

Monthly exports, imports, trade surplus and the volume series for exports and imports have been seasonally adjusted using the US Bureau of the Census X-11 Variant of the Census Method 11 Seasonal Adjustment Program. In the main, monthly projections are based on series recalculated at the end of the previous year.

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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