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CSO statistical release, , 11am

Goods Exports and Imports

July 2020

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
February 202012,1158,1883,927
March 202017,1146,67710,437
April 202011,4655,8105,655
May 202012,8856,5806,305
June 202012,8416,6576,184
July 202012,9198,1204,799

Seasonally adjusted trade surplus fell by €1.4 billion in July

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

Seasonally adjusted goods exports increased by €78 million (+1%) to €12,919 million in July 2020 compared with June 2020, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €1,464 million (+22%) to €8,120 million leading to a decrease of €1,386 million (-22%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €4,799 million in July 2020 compared with the previous month (see Table 2).

Exports increase slightly in July

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for July 2020 was €13,422 million representing an increase of €62 million (+0.5%) when compared with July 2019. The value of goods exports for the period January to July 2020 was €95,132 million, an increase of €5,676 million (+6%) when compared with the first seven months of 2019.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €624 million (+14%) to €4,934 million, accounting for 37% of total exports.

Exports of Organic chemicals increased by €158 million (+6%) to €2,704 million in July 2020 compared with July 2019.

Exports of Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus decreased by €82 million (-14%) to €494 million over the same comparative period (see Table 3).

Imports increase by €500 million in July

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for July 2020 was €8,426 million, an increase of €491 million (+6%) when compared with July 2019. The value of goods imports for January to July 2020 was €49,478 million, which is a decrease of €2,448 million (-5%) compared with January to July of 2019.

Imports of Organic chemicals increased by €773 million (+199%) to €1,162 million.

Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft decreased by €556 million (-24%) to €1,745 million in July 2020 compared with July 2019.

Imports of Petroleum decreased by €257 million (-54%) to €220 million (see Table 3).

The value of goods imports for July 2020 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €6,682 million, an increase of €1,047 million (+19%) when compared with the corresponding July 2019 figure of €5,635 million.

Exports to Great Britain valued at almost €1 billion in July

Exports to Great Britain decreased by €133 million (-12%) to €988 million in July 2020 compared with July 2019. Exports to Great Britain accounted for 7% of total exports.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first seven months of 2020 was €6,844 million, a decrease of €1,074 million (-14%) compared with January to July of 2019.

Imports from Great Britain in July 2020 increased by €28 million (+2%) to €1,535 million compared with July 2019. Imports from Great Britain were 18% of the value of total imports in July 2020.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for January to July 2020 was €10,210 million, a decrease of €383 million (-4%) compared with the first seven months of 2019 (see Table 4).

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €5,148 million (38%) of total goods exports in July 2020 of which €1,390 million went to Germany and €1,227 million went to Belgium. Total EU exports in July decreased by €64 million (-1%) compared with July 2019. As the UK had exited the EU on January 31st 2020, this data compares EU trade excluding the UK for both periods for comparative purposes.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €4,390 million (33%) of total exports in July 2020.

The EU accounted for €3,051 million (36%) of total goods imports in July 2020, which is an increase of €273 million (+10%) compared with July 2019.

The USA with €1,269 million (15%), Switzerland with €696 (8%) and China with €541 million (6%) were the other main non-EU sources of imports (see Table 4).

Exports by industrial origin and Imports by main use

Industrial produce accounted for €12,539 million (93%) of total exports in July 2020. This is an increase of €43 million (+0.3%) when compared with July 2019. There was €4,347 million of this exported to the USA, and €4,812 million to the EU. Agricultural produce accounted for €734 million (5%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €2,288 million (27%) of total imports in July 2020, a decrease of €462 million (-17%) when compared with July 2019.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €1,839 million (22%) of total imports, and Materials for further production accounted for €4,087 million (48%) (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 February 2020 the EU total no longer includes data from the United Kingdom. The new EU total aggregate is labelled EU27. For data comparability we have published the EU27 and the UK data separately for both the current period and previous time periods.

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
2018140,64591,95248,693 156.2  189.2  99.1  99.5  99.6
2019152,49590,70061,794 168.5  192.7  99.5  96.6  103.0
         
2017Quarter 132,17920,98111,197 137.0  160.2  103.3  98.4  104.9
 Quarter 231,07721,7419,335 134.2  182.1  101.9  95.6  106.7
 Quarter 328,98318,54610,437 129.1  152.0  98.1  94.9  103.4
 Quarter 430,54621,6758,872 141.0  176.8  93.8  95.4  98.2
2018Quarter 133,84320,08813,755 152.3  172.2  97.9  95.9  102.1
 Quarter 235,55621,88013,676 161.5  184.3  96.8  97.6  99.3
 Quarter 334,16323,21410,949 148.2  181.9  101.4  104.0  97.6
 Quarter 437,08326,77010,313 163.2  218.7  100.2  100.3  99.9
2019Quarter 137,57021,83715,733 166.5  186.7  99.3  96.1  103.3
 Quarter 238,52722,15216,375 170.6  190.1  99.3  95.7  103.8
 Quarter 337,61821,99515,623 166.5  187.9  99.4  96.3  103.3
 Quarter 438,77924,71614,064 170.8  208.5  99.9  97.1  102.8
2020Quarter 143,76422,08021,684 195.7  189.3  98.1  95.9  102.3
 Quarter 237,94718,97218,975 172.0  163.6  97.0  95.1  102.0
         
2017January9,9077,1972,709 122.8  144.7  106.4  98.9  107.6
 February10,2356,5333,702 135.1  158.7  99.6  98.3  101.3
March12,0377,2514,786 153.0  177.2  103.9  98.1  105.8
April9,8636,8513,012 122.6  167.2  106.2  98.0  108.4
May10,5617,6182,943 139.3  193.4  100.0  94.7  105.7
June10,6537,2723,381 140.6  185.6  99.6  94.0  106.0
July9,1785,6853,493 117.4  140.2  103.2  95.1  108.5
August9,6176,3283,289 126.1  153.9  98.2  93.6  104.9
September10,1886,5333,655 143.8  161.8  93.0  96.1  96.8
October9,6457,0362,609 143.2  180.8  88.3  92.5  95.5
November10,8497,4233,425 151.6  187.0  95.0  96.0  98.9
December10,0537,2162,837 128.3  162.7  98.0  97.7  100.3
        
2018January12,1026,5385,565 159.6  168.8  100.1  95.4  104.9
 February10,4016,4233,978 138.1  163.8  99.4  96.7  102.8
 March11,3407,1284,212 159.1  183.9  94.1  95.5  98.5
 April10,9806,6034,377 155.4  160.9  93.4  101.1  92.4
 May11,8106,9244,886 160.1  182.1  97.4  93.7  103.9
 June12,7668,3524,413 168.9  209.9  99.7  98.1  101.7
 July11,0757,7183,357 144.6  179.8  101.1  105.8  95.6
 August11,5387,2464,293 152.9  176.4  99.6  100.9  98.7
 September11,5508,2503,300 147.1  189.4  103.6  105.2  98.4
 October12,2558,9903,265 164.1  216.5  98.6  100.8  97.8
 November12,9568,8694,087 173.5  219.8  98.9  99.6  99.3
 December11,8728,9112,961 152.1  219.9  103.2  100.6  102.5
      
20194January13,4847,6575,826 179.1  196.0  99.4  96.3  103.2
 February12,4126,5045,908 164.9  165.8  99.3  96.6  102.8
 March11,6747,6763,998 155.5  198.2  99.1  95.4  103.8
 April12,7877,3395,449 169.7  190.7  99.4  94.8  104.9
 May13,6947,3556,339 182.1  189.2  99.3  95.8  103.6
 June12,0467,4594,587 160.1  190.3  99.3  96.6  102.8
 July13,3607,9365,424 177.2  203.2  99.5  96.2  103.4
 August11,7556,7325,023 156.2  172.8  99.3  96.0  103.5
 September12,5047,3275,177 166.2  187.7  99.5  96.6  102.9
 October14,2868,6105,675 189.4  218.6  99.5  97.0  102.6
 November12,8417,7585,083 169.5  194.7  99.9  97.5  102.5
 December11,6528,3483,305 153.5  212.3  100.2  96.9  103.4
          
20204January14,9077,1457,763 195.6  180.4  100.6  97.6  103.0
 February11,7077,8913,815 162.9  207.6  94.8  93.7  101.3
 March17,1507,04410,106 228.7  180.0  99.0  96.4  102.7
 April11,4655,7335,732 159.8  148.5  94.7  94.6  100.1
 May12,9846,4036,581 174.2  166.1  98.4  95.0  103.6
 June13,4986,8366,662 182.0  176.2  97.9  95.6  102.4
 July13,4228,4264,996 188.1  217.6  94.2  95.4  98.7
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 2020 is based on current Intrastat response levels. See background notes.
Table 2 Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted1 series
PeriodValueVolume index
ExportsImportsTrade surplusBase year 2010=100
€m€m€mExportsImports
2017Quarter 131,85221,17010,682 134.1  160.6
 Quarter 230,36621,7158,650 131.0  182.2
 Quarter 330,07419,70310,371 134.2  160.9
 Quarter 430,89020,42510,466 144.0  168.1
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 438,83623,04915,787 170.8  192.2
2020Quarter 142,82622,23120,595 189.5  189.5
 Quarter 237,19019,04718,143 169.3  166.8
      
2017January10,3317,4732,858 123.1  152.9
 February10,6867,0253,661 143.2  167.9
 March10,8346,6714,163 135.9  160.9
 April10,4127,2603,151 131.5  182.0
 May10,1577,4142,743 131.5  189.3
 June9,7977,0412,756 129.9  175.5
 July9,9736,1893,784 127.3  153.3
 August10,0386,7913,247 131.0  164.3
 September10,0626,7233,339 144.3  165.0
 October9,9706,6773,294 141.6  169.7
 November10,3056,8563,449 144.5  171.7
 December10,6156,8923,723 145.8  163.0
       
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
 December12,3127,7194,593 167.1  193.6
      
2020January13,5977,3656,232 183.3  192.0
 February12,1158,1883,927 171.6  213.3
 March17,1146,67710,437 213.7  163.1
April11,4655,8105,655 158.7  157.8
May12,8856,5806,305 177.3  171.7
June12,8416,6576,184 171.9  170.8
 July12,9198,1204,799 187.0  214.0
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.
Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity1
€million
SITC (Rev 4)ExportsImports
JulJulJan-JulJan-JulJulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
20192020201920202019202020192020
0Food and live animals1,0021,0046,6886,6886226054,3994,481
00Live animals other than animals of Division 032513167120292784159
01Meat and meat preparations3173202,2392,1337875572518
02Dairy products and birds' eggs2972881,6771,7207868517559
03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof46423703302623175172
04Cereals and cereal preparations44493093139495742658
05Vegetables and fruit3032186194114113785794
06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey111283733230216238
07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof35402412635252365358
08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)31342122266558506565
09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1651751,2031,3165663437458
1Beverages and tobacco1691498977478598539573
11Beverages 1691498967478293506541
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0000343432
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1421081,0457997375612573
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw6545320000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 1196221613
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 00111175
24Cork and wood1415111991615125116
25Pulp and waste paper433021644235
26Textile fibres and their wastes12878621197
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)1188369121511096
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap85566144432018150132
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes91273671419154168
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials112415154405493233,2282,721
32Coal, coke and briquettes6117170633435
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials101234033354772202,5051,781
34Gas, natural and manufactured22585397609869
35Electric current3536271437936
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes6840522226154173
41Animal oils and fats58344612910
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils11661822132148
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0010221315
5Chemicals and related products8,0578,76655,57762,6651,3142,2469,56912,619
51Organic chemicals2,5462,70419,25819,4333891,1622,3435,191
52Inorganic chemicals22241321962929187199
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials11978592322152148
54Medical and pharmaceutical products4,3104,93428,30535,5715226704,1744,527
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations7037104,7714,80798109769705
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)11862320330285
57Plastics in primary forms38292712327973567505
58Plastics in non-primary forms43432993306864456432
59Chemical materials and products nes3833132,4562,0308397591626
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1952111,3571,3205145173,5213,316
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins331718211110
62Rubber manufactures nes101062613131221201
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)23251751453231194173
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof1513102928574577552
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products131392894675323445
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes38472712486158378350
67Iron and steel1613109919077568453
68Non-ferrous metals16786554833358300
69Manufactures of metals nes6281442521121136891832
7Machinery and transport equipment2,2011,66413,37813,3763,7743,47123,47718,096
71Power generating machinery and equipment7184479646101265686912
72Machinery specialised for particular industries61644254281231251,021983
73Metalworking machinery3216161298169
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1701671,2131,0341641941,1131,136
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)4414382,8452,8204544603,0833,010
76Telecommunications and sound equipment127868687221631841,0981,105
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts7657264,3745,6392362811,6721,750
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)33282211962212082,2241,814
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)528682,9361,8752,3011,74512,4997,316
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,3911,3759,3928,4938008495,1885,708
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings121078692924183144
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc16151251125050340298
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers32211915129270
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories1816131981781611,0991,220
85Footwear3221144536265231
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5764943,9553,4281652171,1061,349
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1371158397663642249313
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes6277204,2213,9872833071,8542,082
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere36112081092923188166
Unclassified estimates249853614431521951,0491,053
           
Total13,36013,42289,45695,1327,9368,42651,92549,478
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. July 2020 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
20192020201920202019202020192020
Austria40272302323128203168
Belgium1,4771,22710,42510,3711371229551,156
Bulgaria16128482632425
Croatia553729211211
Cyprus1230170122
Czech Republic47363692335555392393
Denmark66533943693638301318
Estonia3112961147
Finland232117115612811898
France4665023,2143,1331,0121,1126,6354,607
Germany1,3701,3907,92310,2405924904,3713,730
Greece21138373976434236
Hungary 35241871481523107186
Italy 3965052,2802,721121164799967
Latvia753936332728
Lithuania3231943697457
Luxembourg664859332325
Malta3424220185
Netherlands7396574,9484,8952732531,8521,883
Poland931076636637773488477
Portugal32262572082422151156
Romania3930235221976756
Slovakia995761463227
Slovenia8107192442219
Spain2062141,3901,5151143538511,023
Sweden89685604764630408290
EU Country not specified210462653821872388501,622
Total EU2735,2125,14834,30637,3892,7783,05118,82817,371
Euro-Zone44,8114,76631,51234,7852,3462,58316,17913,993
         
Great Britain1,1219887,9186,8441,5071,53510,59310,210
Northern Ireland1891671,2431,146137139991913
Total UK1,3101,1569,1617,9891,6441,67311,58411,123
         
Australia72113440571785660
Brazil3456182192271211997
Canada1251168171,0965740392291
China57431,0044,8746,3364625412,9253,362
India42242521974649389301
Japan2021591,5651,74410392707717
Malaysia14211181363740341296
Mexico1311238791,0612730212232
Norway22311361604135338298
Russia56363972762511291206
Saudi Arabia5148407386020335
Singapore54493203281931187335
South Africa573423317012107263
South Korea46553274225274500548
Switzerland2913213,7391,8302136969223,172
Taiwan38302103225849306294
Thailand131270753732249226
Turkey32434274235653412355
USA4,0584,39026,35029,3441,2561,2698,7497,269
Other countries4164212,6733,6112882041,4651,409
Country unknown6340311,5751,0756924062,8811,421
Total Non-EU (excl UK)6,8387,11845,98949,7543,5143,70321,51420,983
         
Total13,36013,42289,45695,1327,9368,42651,92549,478
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. July 2020 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 SITCJulJulJan-JulJan-JulJulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
20192020201920202019202020192020
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1,3101,1569,1617,9891,6441,67311,58411,123
0Food and live animals3723642,5972,4243122982,1372,062
1Beverages and tobacco25251711424143244244
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels39373002432023176158
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials70182711762351941,5551,729
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes231416553438
5Chemicals and related products3632942,6672,1551982011,5611,373
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material103997446081962011,3691,320
7Machinery and transport equipment1831711,3071,2513524092,5392,249
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1181048497181962331,3431,466
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere34402422558865626484
EU 275,2125,14834,30637,3892,7783,05118,82817,371
0Food and live animals3503392,3382,2582092071,4861,633
1Beverages and tobacco35302201953237204229
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels78354883512224178172
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials1011461057031533263
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes44222912138694
5Chemicals and related products3,6963,77623,78427,4995016113,5174,065
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material53563703901621511,149991
7Machinery and transport equipment4664093,6173,4271,5301,64910,1388,180
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4984413,2532,9181741941,1031,155
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere234716721765133434589
USA4,0584,39026,35029,3441,2561,2698,7497,269
0Food and live animals4642227235139133118
1Beverages and tobacco8470390301131010
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels311710333830
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials00137014771639484
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes-0000011
5Chemicals and related products2,9733,54019,47123,7582523792,1292,335
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material15391042023335244251
7Machinery and transport equipment4102152,3201,9776796604,7133,257
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5214803,6532,840114104766732
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere6332211357650
China37431,0044,8746,3364625412,9253,362
0Food and live animals7765514498563236
1Beverages and tobacco11350012
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels452626222019
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials0-100000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes10220000
5Chemicals and related products732071,0151,1803354220289
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2215185157313403
7Machinery and transport equipment5475722,9933,9722272791,4951,594
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles39152304635137136801980
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere0000764340
Rest of World2,0371,72314,76514,0741,7961,8929,83910,353
0Food and live animals1581941,0121,2738383612630
1Beverages and tobacco232311210511158187
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels18292151692523200195
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials3112601589727501246
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0124573340
5Chemicals and related products9529508,6408,0743291,0002,1424,557
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material22151241027273446350
7Machinery and transport equipment5952973,1412,7489874744,5912,817
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles2151971,3321,3821781811,1751,375
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere22512758885855
         
Total13,36013,42289,45695,1327,9368,42651,92549,478
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. July 2020 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
JulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
2019202020192020
Agricultural produce7477344,7464,680
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2742611,9281,721
EU12822621,8441,747
USA4943231246
Rest of World142168743967
     
Forestry and fishing produce6057485433
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1920143128
EU13327227188
USA0011
Rest of World910113116
     
Industrial produce12,49612,53983,81489,483
Great Britain and Northern Ireland9808326,8235,863
EU14,8804,81232,09835,247
USA4,0084,34726,11429,093
Rest of World2,6282,54918,77819,281
     
Unclassified exports5692412536
     
Total13,36013,42289,45695,132
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
JulJulJan-JulJan-Jul
2019202020192020
Producers capital goods ready for use2,7502,28815,87910,765
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1613061,0641,285
EU11,2201,3447,7775,884
USA5222923,6181,785
Rest of World8463463,4191,810
     
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco5435483,7793,783
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2822771,9801,881
EU11982041,3931,491
USA553130
Rest of World5861375382
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,1651,2928,5678,641
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3403222,5292,396
EU12993832,2822,451
USA1642061,3631,119
Rest of World3623802,3942,675
     
Materials for further production - agriculture1631531,3941,387
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4645330337
EU16058506505
USA1916211154
Rest of World3833347391
Materials for further production - other3,1393,93421,10223,717
Great Britain and Northern Ireland7266575,0524,739
EU19369296,4366,450
USA5367473,4684,149
Rest of World9411,6016,1468,380
     
Unclassified imports1762121,2041,184
     
Total7,9368,42651,92549,478
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 (June 2020 in this publication), -4 (March 2020) and -8 (November 2019) 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 2020 was 56%, covering an estimated 85% 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

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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