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For more information on this release:
E-mail: Trade@cso.ie Ciarán Counihan +353 1 4984215 Damian Malone +353 1 4984206
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

November 2017

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
June 20179,8476,7793,068
July 20179,7165,6394,077
August 20179,6536,2003,453
September 20179,8636,3483,515
October 20179,6335,7723,862
November 20179,5065,9993,507

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decrease marginally in November

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

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €127 million (-1%) to €9,506 million in November 2017, compared with October 2017, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €227 million (+4%) to €5,999 million leading to a decrease of €354 million (-9%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €3,507 million in November 2017 (see Table 2). 

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products decrease in November

The (unadjusted) value of goods exports for November 2017 was €10,353 million, a decrease of €849 million (-8%) when compared with November 2016.  The value of goods exports for the period January to November 2017 was €111,246 million, an increase of €1,366 million (+1%) when compared with the first eleven months of 2016.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products decreased by €336 million (-10%) to €3,068 million in November 2017 compared with November 2016.

Exports of Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances decreased by €275 million (-39%) to €429 million.

Exports of Organic chemicals decreased by €231 million (-11%) to €1,929 million.

Exports of Food and live animals increased by €86 million (+9%) to €1,042 million over the same comparative period.  This was mainly due to increases in the exports of Live animals, Meat and meat preparations and Dairy products and birds’ eggs.

Imports of Organic chemicals products decrease in November

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for November 2017 was €6,381 million, a decrease of €855 million (-12%) when compared with November 2016.  The value of goods imports for January to November was €69,067 million, which is an increase of €1,506 million (+2%) compared with the first eleven months of 2016.

Imports of Organic chemicals decreased by €120 million (-28%) to €313 million in November 2017 compared with November 2016.

Imports of Mineral fuels increased by €67 million (+17%) to €452 million over the same comparative period, mainly due to increases in the imports of Petroleum and Gas.

The value of goods imports for November 2017 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €5,591 million, a decrease of €272 million (-5%) when compared with the corresponding November 2016 figure of 5,863 million.  The corresponding figure for January to November 2017 was €56,471 million, an increase of €3,759 million (+7%) compared with the first eleven months of 2016.

Exports to Great Britain decrease in November

Exports to Great Britain decreased by €310 million (-19%) to €1,290 million in November 2017 compared with November 2016.  The majority of this decrease was in the exports of Chemicals and related products (see Table 5).  Exports to Great Britain increased in January to November by €985 million (+8%) compared with the first eleven months of 2016. 

Imports from Great Britain increased by €130 million (+9%) to €1,617 million in November 2017 compared with November 2016.  The main increases were in the imports of Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and Food and live animals.  Imports from Great Britain for the first eleven months of 2017 increased by €1,327 million (+9%) to €15,658 million compared with the same period of 2016.

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €5,018 million (48%) of total goods exports in November 2017, a decrease of €535 million (-10%) compared with November 2016. Exports to Belgium were €836 million and to Germany were €684 million.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €2,799 million (27%) of total exports in November 2017.

The EU accounted for 62% of the value of goods imports in November 2017.  Total EU imports of €3,961 million represents an increase of €14 million compared with November 2016.

The USA with €1,027 million (16%) and China with €433 million (7%) were the main non-EU sources of imports. The total value of imports from non-EU countries in November 2017 was €2,421 million, a decrease of €869 million (-26%) compared with November 2016.

 

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 2016.  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
         
2014Quarter 121,76515,2276,538 102.1  129.8  93.7  96.5  97.2
 Quarter 223,55914,7458,814 105.9  127.7  97.8  94.9  103.0
 Quarter 323,27115,3457,926 103.6  127.5  98.9  98.9  100.0
 Quarter 424,02116,8407,180 103.3  139.1  102.3  99.5  102.9
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 131,52118,89712,624 136.0  157.9  102.0  98.3  103.8
 Quarter 231,04620,49310,553 136.7  179.0  99.9  94.1  106.2
 Quarter 328,88317,30411,580 132.9  148.9  96.0  95.5  100.5
         
2014January7,0855,1811,904 99.6  131.8  93.9  96.9  96.9
 February6,9594,6112,348 98.9  116.3  92.9  97.7  95.1
 March7,7205,4342,286 107.9  141.3  94.4  94.8  99.6
 April7,3224,8662,455 102.7  129.3  94.1  92.7  101.5
 May8,1584,9723,187 109.6  130.1  98.2  94.2  104.2
 June8,0804,9073,172 105.4  123.6  101.2  97.9  103.4
 July7,2525,2671,984 96.3  133.1  99.4  97.5  101.9
 August7,7734,7952,978 104.8  118.7  97.9  99.6  98.3
 September8,2475,2832,964 109.6  130.8  99.3  99.6  99.7
 October7,9325,5862,347 102.7  139.0  101.9  99.0  102.9
 November7,8645,5842,280 99.1  138.2  104.7  99.5  105.2
 December8,2245,6712,553 108.1  140.0  100.4  99.8  100.6
          
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
         
20174January9,7055,7243,981 122.6  143.1  104.5  98.5  106.0
 February10,0006,2493,751 133.5  156.7  98.9  98.3  100.6
March11,8166,9244,892 151.8  174.0  102.7  98.1  104.7
April9,8506,4593,391 127.4  164.7  102.0  96.6  105.6
May10,5487,1743,374 140.2  188.9  99.3  93.6  106.1
June10,6486,8603,788 142.6  183.5  98.5  92.1  107.0
July9,1675,3013,865 118.4  135.7  102.1  96.3  106.1
August9,5815,8893,692 133.1  154.5  95.0  93.9  101.1
September10,1366,1134,023 147.2  156.4  90.9  96.3  94.3
October9,4435,9923,452 138.6  159.2  89.9  92.7  97.0
 November10,3536,3813,972 144.6  162.8  94.5  96.6  97.8
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. November 2017 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
2013Quarter 121,73113,4748,257 93.8  121.8
 Quarter 222,02313,9668,057 102.1  122.5
 Quarter 322,93514,0938,841 105.9  123.8
 Quarter 422,66014,3198,342 104.5  127.0
2014Quarter 121,80714,4487,359 102.0  124.2
 Quarter 223,18314,8348,349 105.1  128.0
 Quarter 323,36916,2647,105 104.0  134.1
 Quarter 424,62416,8047,820 105.5  138.8
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 132,30418,39113,913 136.5  152.2
 Quarter 230,24020,7799,461 133.7  183.0
 Quarter 329,23318,18711,046 135.2  158.8
       
2013January6,9774,4572,520 93.6  124.6
 February7,1704,5972,574 93.3  122.4
 March7,5844,4203,164 94.6  118.3
 April7,5314,6032,928 98.8  121.5
 May7,2464,5892,657 101.2  121.4
 June7,2464,7752,472 106.2  124.7
 July7,5684,6662,902 110.5  122.2
 August7,8764,9322,944 105.0  128.9
 September7,4904,4952,995 102.3  120.2
 October7,5014,7652,736 105.7  125.9
 November7,2334,9082,325 99.4  130.7
 December7,9274,6463,281 108.5  124.5
       
2014January7,2734,7132,560 102.9  121.7
 February7,4154,6122,803 104.2  117.9
 March7,1195,1231,996 99.0  133.0
 April7,0804,5722,508 100.6  123.0
 May8,1715,2642,907 109.9  134.6
 June7,9324,9982,934 104.8  126.4
 July6,9515,5911,360 92.7  140.2
 August8,3885,3843,004 113.3  131.3
 September8,0305,2892,741 105.9  130.7
 October7,8735,5092,364 100.2  135.3
 November7,4085,7991,609 94.1  144.6
 December9,3435,4963,848 122.2  136.4
       
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
       
2017January10,5585,6024,955 129.2  139.4
 February10,9066,7184,188 140.1  166.2
 March10,8416,0714,770 140.3  151.1
 April9,8476,9812,866 128.9  178.8
 May10,5467,0193,527 137.5  187.7
 June9,8476,7793,068 134.6  182.6
 July9,7165,6394,077 125.6  146.3
 August9,6536,2003,453 133.4  163.9
 September9,8636,3483,515 146.6  166.2
 October9,6335,7723,862 137.3  151.9
 November9,5065,9993,507 134.0  150.5
1 Based on seasonal patterns up to December 2016. Accordingly all values in this table may have been revised.
Table 3 Goods Exports and Imports classified by commodity1
€million
SITC (Rev 4)ExportsImports
NovNovJan-NovJan-NovNovNovJan-NovJan-Nov
20162017201620172016201720162017
0Food and live animals9551,0429,12910,3906176496,0226,510
0Live animals other than animals of Division 0359852904002654169218
1Meat and meat preparations3103343,2303,4728389864885
2Dairy products and birds' eggs1792091,6022,2135669553717
3Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof56554945372525241267
4Cereals and cereal preparations333434737911297964996
5Vegetables and fruit21232552751031041,1181,150
6Sugars, sugar preparations and honey14152021472930346347
7Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof27283463345856522548
8Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)29312562947062672725
9Miscellaneous edible products and preparations2262262,1072,3415564573657
1Beverages and tobacco1291331,2301,2468084839831
11Beverages 1281321,1951,2417783761747
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures01355207884
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1521651,3961,6367379755829
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw11121161220000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 21138322730
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 001111911
24Cork and wood13101491321510142145
25Pulp and waste paper665968414953
26Textile fibres and their wastes1311125120111413
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)11111161211022125157
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap86987039442124205226
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes11161141201917186196
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials57786249373854523,4074,250
32Coal, coke and briquettes779387114124163
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials47584707263033462,6173,352
34Gas, natural and manufactured0111137091652686
35Electric current313501101121449
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes7871872221223245
41Animal oils and fats676277221819
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils117101818180208
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0021212518
5Chemicals and related products6,6026,01961,98562,3521,8061,47413,97016,042
51Organic chemicals2,1611,92922,41117,9234333133,9833,175
52Inorganic chemicals10221541383131252301
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials26122353191921208231
54Medical and pharmaceutical products3,4043,06827,96632,7279637335,8998,362
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations6196057,2726,9741381421,2831,353
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)004942126296346
57Plastics in primary forms30363283267673752865
58Plastics in non-primary forms40434404535251530561
59Chemical materials and products nes3133043,1753,3977483768849
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1832121,9912,0984094404,3774,662
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins443640222018
62Rubber manufactures nes6775732325279276
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)22282392672424239266
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof14151451467679794803
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products14111561353843421442
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes40434234345353487517
67Iron and steel13151491575866600679
68Non-ferrous metals81278993447496552
69Manufactures of metals nes61786907481011001,0411,109
7Machinery and transport equipment1,6161,26219,14217,7932,8792,19428,50726,141
71Power generating machinery and equipment53896127189798744931
72Machinery specialised for particular industries45646246561081041,1571,186
73Metalworking machinery222231119104107
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1411521,5561,6881481461,4621,443
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)3083283,3383,0903362913,1023,008
76Telecommunications and sound equipment82988239301961771,4561,451
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts7044296,5016,0112352332,2742,336
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)25242922853743463,3593,083
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)255765,3754,3831,37379014,84812,595
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,3291,31413,43013,7087817697,5077,534
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings15141501362526226243
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc16141731684342402435
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers2224231314125134
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories34233122461751751,7241,671
85Footwear4445373234356371
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5265475,4995,5961541501,5611,575
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1181171,1401,2444434387387
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes6155936,0896,2592942952,7282,718
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere117353033613644337394
Unclassified estimates253855796381491761,6161,628
           
Total11,20110,353109,880111,2467,2366,38167,56169,067
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. November 2017 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
NovNovJan-NovJan-NovNovNovJan-NovJan-Nov
20162017201620172016201720162017
Austria26313353442620247255
Belgium1,24883613,58911,7231001251,2611,286
Bulgaria667479224023
Croatia33353411289
Cyprus4131230033
Czech Republic33383443613138370362
Denmark55695635875941466391
Estonia324019311511
Finland18262232971411145149
France4454614,6344,9188368418,6898,677
Germany6606847,2839,1125574656,1436,236
Great Britain1,6001,29012,30413,2881,4871,61714,33115,658
Greece2038253315444358
Hungary 2418272262911139108
Italy 2032452,1952,3931201221,3171,454
Latvia585560523544
Lithuania323321656269
Luxembourg51161108332828
Malta23403010118
Netherlands5345775,4065,4262382442,4162,211
Northern Ireland1561721,5111,8061111109811,158
Poland821321,2551,1675047519575
Portugal35323844271722228239
Romania2223261292151111494
Slovakia56725314116949
Slovenia5136876333527
Spain2622172,7892,3851351311,0341,203
Sweden65647296865045416451
EU country not specified226112997054927324258
Total EU5,5545,01855,13756,9953,9473,96139,50741,093
  of which United Kingdom1,7561,46213,81515,0941,5991,72715,31216,816
Euro-Zone33,4793,19237,45737,7292,0742,01121,71822,005
         
Australia100911,427813121310588
Brazil142520716814229406206
Canada90818809713553482564
China45594553,2114,7464424333,8384,089
India25452613304550508641
Japan3742542,6782,1071131101,1431,081
Malaysia22211931752930279299
Mexico891181,2531,3292818319248
Norway29562293671311111,0021,072
Russia45613444681624158298
Saudi Arabia5447731645110197
Singapore5865576639209379157
South Africa2326208221648697
South Korea45448645898246748810
Switzerland5527475,9095,797152431,392510
Taiwan23212022332329326271
Thailand17111911584731408352
Turkey57384824605662459517
USA3,0382,79929,52229,9621,6861,02713,11813,667
Other countries4203294,9553,6661732001,9492,145
Country unknown51414204064199931854
Total Non-EU5,6485,33454,74354,2513,2892,42128,05427,974
         
Total11,20110,353109,880111,2467,2366,38167,56169,067
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. November 2017 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 SITCNovNovJan-NovJan-NovNovNovJan-NovJan-Nov
20162017201620172016201720162017
Great Britain1,6001,29012,30413,2881,4871,61714,33115,658
0Food and live animals3443893,3253,6162612892,4862,683
1Beverages and tobacco22232011992524295253
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels33353443581213141171
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials41364193342002611,8812,382
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes111110444145
5Chemicals and related products7834163,7864,5312202422,1862,785
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material80888698851561621,6051,672
7Machinery and transport equipment1661601,9981,9642883042,7402,767
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1011081,0411,0742312192,0041,965
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere28353103189099952936
Other EU23,9543,72842,83343,7072,4592,34325,17625,435
0Food and live animals3383653,3163,8782512712,5452,784
1Beverages and tobacco39353933523639375414
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels70817168752621256281
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials15181162764263305327
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes5755731413141153
5Chemicals and related products2,4222,13325,81325,6844064564,6005,278
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material68817588181421571,6131,701
7Machinery and transport equipment4404415,8256,3861,3021,07912,90512,023
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5225055,4704,9281671471,6461,621
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere35623704387496790853
USA3,0382,79929,52229,9621,6861,02713,11813,667
0Food and live animals38443684562919230198
1Beverages and tobacco5058470522211716
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels443539534448
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials00841691119183174
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes-0000011
5Chemicals and related products2,0161,99817,88919,2178324953,6085,543
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material23192032123232348363
7Machinery and transport equipment4422185,9184,2236523377,4686,082
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles4614574,5205,0661161101,1391,147
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere4336568108096
China35594553,2114,7464424333,8384,089
0Food and live animals8889777842342834
1Beverages and tobacco00540000
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels778368543840
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials-0010000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00210000
5Chemicals and related products681307508423922305267
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2322283541381437
7Machinery and transport equipment3561861,1882,4582332071,8311,980
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles37403835021231491,1961,272
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere0000555857
Rest of World2,0512,08022,01119,5431,16196011,09910,218
0Food and live animals1481551,3431,5987365732811
1Beverages and tobacco17171611681819153148
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels39392192962536275290
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials12551571331091,0391,367
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0023444046
5Chemicals and related products1,3131,34213,74812,0793092583,2722,169
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material10211391554447430489
7Machinery and transport equipment2122574,2132,7624042673,5633,289
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles2082052,0152,1381451441,5211,529
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere103201661877107480
         
Total11,20110,353109,880111,2467,2366,38167,56169,067
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. November 2017 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 (October 2017 in this publication), -4 (July 2017) and -8 (March 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 November 2017 was 60%, covering an estimated 91% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for November 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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