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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

October 2017

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
May 201710,5467,0193,527
June 20179,8476,7793,068
July 20179,6905,5944,096
August 20179,6536,2003,453
September 20179,8636,3483,515
October 20179,6515,7223,930

Seasonally adjusted goods exports and imports decrease in October

Goods Exports and Imports seasonally adjusted
go to full release

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €212 million (-2%) to €9,651 million in October 2017, compared with September 2017, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €626 million (-10%) to €5,722 million leading to an increase of €414 million (+12%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €3,930 million in October 2017 (see Table 2).

Exports of Organic chemicals decrease in October

The (unadjusted) value of goods exports for October 2017 was €9,461 million, a decrease of €738 million (-7%) when compared with October 2016.  The value of goods exports for the period January to October 2017 was €100,868 million, an increase of €2,189 million (+2%) when compared with the first ten months of 2016. 

Exports of Organic chemicals decreased by €757 million (-31%) to €1,652 million in October 2017 compared with October 2016.
 
Exports of Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances decreased by €341 million (-46%) to €399 million.
 
Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €312 million (+12%) to €3,001 million.
 
Exports of Food and live animals increased by €84 million (+10%) to €933 million over the same comparative period.  This was mainly due to increases in the exports of Meat and meat preparations and Dairy products and birds’ eggs.

Imports of Mineral fuels products increase in October

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for October 2017 was €5,939 million, an increase of €240 million (+4%) when compared with October 2016.  The value of goods imports for January to October was €62,439 million, which is an increase of €2,114 million (+4%) compared with the first ten months of 2016. 

Imports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by €125 million (+27%) to €587 million in October 2017 compared with October 2016.
 
Imports of Mineral fuels increased by €109 million (+36%) to €415 million over the same comparative period, mainly due to an increase in the imports of Petroleum.
 
Imports of Food and live animals increased by €85 million (+15%) to €642 million.
 
The value of goods imports for October 2017 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €5,148 million, an increase of €589 million (+13%) when compared with the corresponding October 2016 figure of €4,559 million.  The corresponding figure for January to October 2017 was €50,772 million, an increase of €3,923 million (+8%) compared with the first ten months of 2016.

Exports and imports with Great Britain increase in October

Exports to Great Britain increased by €134 million (+13%) to €1,144 million in October 2017 compared with October 2016.  The majority of this increase was in the exports of Chemicals and related products. (see Table 5).  Exports to Great Britain increased in January to October by €1,305 million (+12%) compared with the first ten months of 2016.

Imports from Great Britain increased by €111 million (+8%) to €1,485 million in October 2017 compared with October 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 ten months of 2017 increased by €1,117 million (+9%) to €13,961 million compared with the same period of 2016. 

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €5,085 million (54%) of total goods exports in October 2017, an increase of €332 million (+7%) compared with October 2016.  Exports to Belgium were €1,160 million and to France were €607 million.
 
The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for €2,389 million (25%) of total exports in October 2017.

The EU accounted for 63% of the value of goods imports in October 2017.  Total EU imports of €3,739 million represents an increase of €230 million (+7%) compared with October 2016.

The USA with €948 million (16%) and China with €430 million (7%) were the main non-EU sources of imports. The total value of imports from non-EU countries in October 2017 was €2,200 million, an increase of €10 million compared with October 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
2011 93,19153,03540,155 106.1  110.4  96.6  98.7  97.9
2012 93,50756,17937,328 100.6  120.2  102.2  96.0  106.5
2013 89,18255,78733,394 101.1  123.5  97.0  92.8  104.6
2014 92,61662,15830,458 103.8  130.1  98.2  98.1  100.1
2015 112,40770,11142,296 115.5  143.6  106.8  100.3  106.5
2016 119,29274,13145,162 125.6  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 131,50218,74412,758 135.4  157.1  102.4  98.0  104.4
 Quarter 231,04620,49310,553 136.7  179.0  99.9  94.1  106.2
 Quarter 328,85917,26211,598 132.9  148.5  96.0  95.5  100.4
          
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
 March11,7976,7715,026 150.2  171.6  103.7  97.2  106.6
 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
 July9,1425,2593,883 118.3  134.5  102.0  96.4  105.8
 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
 October9,4615,9393,521 139.4  157.7  89.6  92.8  96.6
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. October 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 132,28718,25714,030 136.0  151.5
 Quarter 230,24020,7799,461 133.7  183.0
 Quarter 329,20718,14311,065 135.2  158.4
       
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
 March10,8245,9374,887 138.8  149.0
 April9,8476,9812,866 128.9  178.8
 May10,5467,0193,527 137.5  187.7
 June9,8476,7793,068 134.6  182.6
 July9,6905,5944,096 125.5  145.0
 August9,6536,2003,453 133.4  163.9
 September9,8636,3483,515 146.6  166.2
 October9,6515,7223,930 138.1  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
OctOctJan-OctJan-OctOctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
20162017201620172016201720162017
0Food and live animals8499338,1749,3645576425,4055,842
 00Live animals other than animals of Division 0329382313153549143164
 01Meat and meat preparations3023232,9203,1328186781794
 02Dairy products and birds' eggs1531911,4232,0014866497645
 03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof40404385052124216239
 04Cereals and cereal preparations38393143459299852898
 05Vegetables and fruit2223234252971011,0151,046
 06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey11121881313133316316
 07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof31293193055662464491
 08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)25282272634862602661
 09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1982101,8812,1144960518587
1Beverages and tobacco1351351,1011,1117887760745
 11Beverages 1351341,0661,1067574684661
 12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures013542137683
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1191411,2441,4686178682747
 21Hides, skins and furskins, raw12111051100000
 22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 11117222427
 23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 001111810
 24Cork and wood13101361191416127133
 25Pulp and waste paper565362354551
 26Textile fibres and their wastes1212112109111211
 27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)7101051091112115135
 28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap59816188461720183202
 29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes10101031041221167177
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials45705678593064153,0223,797
 32Coal, coke and briquettes688681416113159
 33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials35494236682453222,3143,007
 34Gas, natural and manufactured1111125672582596
 35Electric current3124798151336
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes6864821920201224
 41Animal oils and fats685672121618
 42Fixed vegetable fats and oils11691516162189
 43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0021222317
5Chemicals and related products6,0665,61155,38356,2651,0721,29712,16414,525
 51Organic chemicals2,4091,65220,25115,9822512843,5492,846
 52Inorganic chemicals12141441162027222270
 53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials29232093061822190210
 54Medical and pharmaceutical products2,6883,00124,56229,6064635874,9367,616
 55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations6035566,6536,3691321341,1451,199
 56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)004931324275315
 57Plastics in primary forms25272982906385675796
 58Plastics in non-primary forms36394004104649478508
 59Chemical materials and products nes2653002,8623,0916582694765
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1781891,8071,8763994803,9684,214
 61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins443334221816
 62Rubber manufactures nes6768652226256251
 63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)23242172402125215241
 64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof13151301317375718724
 65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products14111411223845383399
 66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes39393833904555435460
 67Iron and steel12151351425369542611
 68Non-ferrous metals81070874281462509
 69Manufactures of metals nes58656296661021029401,003
7Machinery and transport equipment1,5271,03717,52616,5032,2821,92325,62823,784
 71Power generating machinery and equipment63545596318772647832
 72Machinery specialised for particular industries404957858393911,0491,075
 73Metalworking machinery232029989397
 74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1391221,4151,5401261331,3141,292
 75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)2722653,0302,7653022632,7662,713
 76Telecommunications and sound equipment64767418341411551,2601,277
 77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts7403995,7965,5851982102,0392,100
 78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)24232672611851992,9852,731
 79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)183455,1204,2771,14179213,47511,666
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,2041,18512,10112,3967407926,7266,760
 81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings14141351212526200216
 82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc14151581553839359393
 83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers2122211113112121
 84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories35212772221701781,5491,495
 85Footwear5440333138323336
 87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes4754644,9735,0491311501,4071,424
 88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1051121,0221,1313836343354
 89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes5555525,4745,6642953102,4342,422
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere15431853263340302349
Unclassified estimates2551095266181531661,4671,451
           
Total10,1999,46198,679100,8685,7005,93960,32562,439
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. October 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
OctOctJan-OctJan-OctOctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
20162017201620172016201720162017
Austria36343083142521221234
Belgium1,2871,16012,34110,8871291181,1611,154
Bulgaria686873723821
Croatia22323121279
Cyprus2226220133
Czech Republic34383113242339339324
Denmark57565085164032408348
Estonia213818111310
Finland22272052731117132138
France4066074,1894,4546837277,8537,785
Germany6365926,6238,4214605115,5865,768
Great Britain1,0101,14410,70412,0091,3741,48512,84413,961
Greece2845233278353954
Hungary 18202492439713097
Italy 1742211,9922,1301491331,1971,323
Latvia465052342942
Lithuania213019775665
Luxembourg5115696332525
Malta23372711108
Netherlands4915134,8724,8532142222,1791,963
Northern Ireland1391561,3551,633921118691,044
Poland781001,1731,0374958468524
Portugal24353503932217211211
Romania23242402701689982
Slovakia6768478105542
Slovenia346363233225
Spain1601892,5272,169841158991,085
Sweden88616646223857365406
EU country not specified27152727025525275239
Total EU4,7535,08549,58451,9763,5093,73935,56036,989
  of which United Kingdom1,1491,30112,05913,6421,4661,59613,71315,005
Euro-Zone33,2873,45933,97834,5171,7981,91419,64419,935
         
Australia117531,32772213149375
Brazil18171921441130264177
Canada86877908903236447509
China43192712,6524,2633964303,3963,658
India22262362843968464591
Japan3662242,3041,86090841,030971
Malaysia16191711542428250269
Mexico1441171,1641,2123021292231
Norway19192003119596871961
Russia32432994072020142274
Saudi Arabia42606785980187
Singapore4645518574148359148
South Africa21241851956108093
South Korea48458195454446665756
Switzerland8755585,3575,05158401,240468
Taiwan15241792112221303242
Thailand21161741463232361320
Turkey33494254223442402454
USA2,8902,38926,48327,1611,04894811,43112,549
Other countries3142874,5363,3371421861,7761,943
Country unknown5114074054140891753
Total Non-EU5,4454,37649,09548,8922,1912,20024,76525,450
         
Total10,1999,46198,679100,8685,7005,93960,32562,439
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. October 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.
4China 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 SITCOctOctJan-OctJan-OctOctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
  20162017201620172016201720162017
Great Britain1,0101,14410,70412,0091,3741,48512,84413,961
0Food and live animals3233412,9813,2202462862,2252,378
1Beverages and tobacco21191801762722270227
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels32283113211316129156
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials37263782991892601,6812,120
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes111010453741
5Chemicals and related products2453673,0034,1221982171,9652,524
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material79837907951541651,4491,507
7Machinery and transport equipment1521421,8311,8122562372,4522,442
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles931019409671981941,7731,743
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere28352812888983862823
Other EU23,7433,94138,87939,9672,1352,25422,71623,028
0Food and live animals3023472,9783,5352392592,2932,509
1Beverages and tobacco39383543153546340373
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels59856467932126230259
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials8271012584349263263
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes5750681212127140
5Chemicals and related products2,3702,43823,39123,4734044584,1944,801
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material66766907301461911,4711,538
7Machinery and transport equipment3423625,3855,9391,00495611,60310,903
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5144734,9494,4191531581,4801,473
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere37873354367699715770
USA2,8902,38926,48327,1611,04894811,43112,549
0Food and live animals50323304122524201179
1Beverages and tobacco5259420465121515
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels233136373944
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials0168416920172155
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes-0000011
5Chemicals and related products1,7241,59615,87417,2192754162,7765,049
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material20141791932734316330
7Machinery and transport equipment6432675,4774,0026103226,8165,654
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles3953924,0594,610961351,0231,036
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere3113153897286
China3 3192712,6524,2633964303,3963,658
0Food and live animals6386690753332630
1Beverages and tobacco00540000
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels757661543435
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials00010000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00210000
5Chemicals and related products57436817121321266245
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1320253442346396
7Machinery and transport equipment162938322,2441931951,5981,774
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles29413464621431601,0741,123
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere0000555352
Rest of World2,2361,71519,96017,4687478229,9379,243
0Food and live animals1111261,1951,4444470660746
1Beverages and tobacco22181441511417135130
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels18201802572026250254
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials014133711059061,258
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0023333642
5Chemicals and related products1,6701,16712,43510,7391821842,9631,906
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material12131291333847386442
7Machinery and transport equipment2281734,0012,5052182143,1593,011
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1721781,8071,9371491461,3761,384
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere219631678106770
          
Total10,1999,46198,679100,8685,7005,93960,32562,439
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. October 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 (September 2017 in this publication), -4 (June 2017) and -8 (February 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 October 2017 was 72%, covering an estimated 94% of the total value of intra-EU trade (these response rates will have increased by the next time data for October 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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