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CSO statistical release, , 11am

Goods Exports and Imports

October 2020

Seasonally adjusted
€ million
 ExportsImportsSurplus
May 202012,8966,5196,377
June 202012,9626,3456,618
July 202013,1568,4954,661
August 202014,5786,7937,785
September 202013,4806,2757,205
October 202012,2636,7585,504

Seasonally adjusted trade surplus decreased by €1.7 billion in October

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

Seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by €1,217 million (-9%) to €12,263 million in October 2020 compared with September 2020, according to preliminary figures.

Seasonally adjusted goods imports increased by €484 million (+8%) to €6,758 million leading to a decrease of €1,701 million (-24%) in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to €5,504 million in October 2020 compared with the previous month (see Table 2).

Exports fell by €2.2 billion in October 2020 compared to October 2019

The (unadjusted)* value of goods exports for October 2020 was €12,096 million representing a decrease of €2,190 million (-15%) when compared with October 2019. The value of goods exports for the period January to October 2020 was €134,473 million, an increase of €6,472 million (+5%) when compared with the first ten months of 2019.

Exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products decreased by €932 million (-19%) to €4,097 million, accounting for 34% of the total value of exports.

Exports of Organic chemicals decreased by €399 million (-15%) to €2,307 million in October 2020 compared with October 2019.

Exports of Food and live animals decreased by €193 million (-17%) to €946 million. This was partly due to a decrease in the exports of live horses.

Exports of Office machines and automatic data processing machines decreased by €76 million (-16%) to €397 million over the same comparative period (see Table 3).

Imports decreased by €1.3 billion in October 2020 compared to October 2019

The (unadjusted) value of goods imports for October 2020 was €7,327 million, a decrease of €1,283 million (-15%) when compared with October 2019. The value of goods imports for January to October 2020 was €68,596 million, which is a decrease of €5,999 million (-8%) compared with January to October of 2019.

Imports of Other transport equipment, including aircraft decreased by €1,255 million (-59%) to €881 million in October 2020 compared with October 2019.

Imports of Food and live animals decreased by €190 million (-23%) to €632 million, driven also by a fall in the imports of live horses.

Imports of Organic chemicals increased by €361 million (+100%) to €723 million (see Table 3).

The value of goods imports for October 2020 excluding SITC 79 (Other transport equipment, including aircraft) was €6,446 million, a decrease of €28 million (-0.4%) when compared with the corresponding October 2019 figure of €6,474 million.

Exports to Great Britain fell by €315 million in October

Exports to Great Britain decreased by €315 million (-23%) to €1,042 million in October 2020 compared with October 2019. This is due to decreases in the exports of Medical and pharmaceutical products and live horses. Exports to Great Britain accounted for 9% of the total value of exports.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first ten months of 2020 was €9,958 million, a decrease of €1,424 million (-13%) compared with January to October of 2019.

Imports from Great Britain in October 2020 increased by €199 million (+11%) to €2,045 million compared with October 2019. This increase is due in part to the import of aircraft from Great Britain in October 2020. Imports from Great Britain were 28% of the value of total imports in October 2020.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for January to October 2020 was €14,614 million, a decrease of €686 million (-4%) compared with the first ten months of 2019 (see Table 4).

Geographic breakdown of goods exports and imports

The EU accounted for €4,735 million (39%) of total goods exports in October 2020 of which €1,461 million went to Germany, €833 million went to the Netherlands and €815 million went to Belgium. Total EU exports in October decreased by €860 million (-15%) compared with October 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 €3,517 million (29%) of total exports in October 2020.

The EU accounted for €2,454 million (33%) of total goods imports in October 2020, which is a decrease of €754 million (-23%) compared with October 2019.

The USA with €791 million (11%), and China with €570 million (8%) 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 €11,222 million (93%) of total exports in October 2020. This is a decrease of €2,084 million (-16%) when compared with October 2019. There was €4,389 million of this exported to the EU, and €3,474 million to the USA. Agricultural produce accounted for €714 million (6%) of total exports (see Table 6).

Producer capital goods ready for use accounted for €1,361 million (19%) of total imports in October 2020, a decrease of €1,350 million (-50%) when compared with October 2019.

Consumption goods ready for use represented €2,060 million (28%) of total imports, and Materials for further production accounted for €3,721 million (51%) (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
2019152,49790,82761,670 168.5  192.7  99.5  96.6  103.0
         
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 438,78224,84213,939 170.8  208.5  99.9  97.1  102.8
2020Quarter 143,81422,01221,802 199.5  189.1  96.1  95.9  100.3
 Quarter 237,89118,60419,287 172.6  160.5  96.7  96.0  100.8
 Quarter 340,67320,65320,020 187.9  177.4  94.3  95.7  98.6
        
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
      
2019January13,4847,6575,826 179.1  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
 December11,6558,4743,181 153.5  212.3  100.2  96.9  103.4
          
20204January14,9817,1047,877 203.6  180.7  96.6  97.4  99.2
 February11,6837,8643,819 166.2  206.5  92.8  93.8  98.9
 March17,1507,04410,106 228.7  180.0  99.0  96.4  102.7
 April11,4055,6635,742 160.0  146.9  94.1  95.1  99.0
 May12,8816,2536,628 175.2  166.6  97.8  94.7  103.3
 June13,6056,6876,917 182.6  167.9  98.3  98.1  100.2
 July13,5908,3845,206 189.3  211.4  94.8  97.7  96.9
 August13,1755,9777,199 177.0  161.3  95.3  92.1  103.4
 September13,9086,2927,615 197.5  159.4  92.9  97.3  95.6
 October12,0967,3274,768 174.5  195.0  91.5  92.6  98.8
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. October 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
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 438,90523,09015,816 171.2  189.9
2020Quarter 142,72022,33020,390 193.0  188.1
 Quarter 237,28818,64118,647 169.8  163.8
 Quarter 341,21421,56319,651 194.0  185.2
       
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
 December12,3817,7604,621 168.4  186.8
      
2020January13,6727,6216,051 191.0  186.4
 February12,1308,2063,924 174.5  211.0
 March16,9186,50310,416 213.6  166.9
April11,4305,7785,652 158.4  159.4
May12,8966,5196,377 177.9  169.5
June12,9626,3456,618 173.0  162.4
July13,1568,4954,661 188.6  217.4
August14,5786,7937,785 200.9  180.0
September13,4806,2757,205 192.5  158.2
 October12,2636,7585,504 172.5  175.7
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
OctOctJan-OctJan-OctOctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
20192020201920202019202020192020
0Food and live animals1,1399469,7789,4718216326,4716,350
00Live animals other than animals of Division 031292033820010624221269
01Meat and meat preparations3413323,1723,1099779839742
02Dairy products and birds' eggs2812462,5912,4557568724760
03Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and preparations thereof43334944352723250233
04Cereals and cereal preparations5349449449111991,066964
05Vegetables and fruit27262642691121101,1151,110
06Sugars, sugar preparations and honey14101251053935319330
07Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof37343473577563553529
08Feeding stuff for animals (excluding unmilled cereals)353330832410475757781
09Miscellaneous edible products and preparations1791641,6901,7677456626631
1Beverages and tobacco1581531,3781,178100102832871
11Beverages 1581531,3771,17794100770816
12Tobacco and tobacco manufactures0000626255
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels1361131,4191,1478580855786
21Hides, skins and furskins, raw5660460000
22Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 01108222419
23Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 001111108
24Cork and wood14171511481819182148
25Pulp and waste paper444132385150
26Textile fibres and their wastes111011091111310
27Crude fertilisers and minerals (excluding coal, petroleum and precious stones)1110120981513154138
28Metalliferous ores and metal scrap81578266282320215190
29Crude animal and vegetable materials nes9999952116205223
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials88357195744902964,5073,172
32Coal, coke and briquettes999292665150
33Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials73205694273952093,5622,315
34Gas, natural and manufactured119118070784749
35Electric current56484381111057
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes6756732222219244
41Animal oils and fats564763221316
42Fixed vegetable fats and oils118101818185206
43Animal or vegetable fats and oils, processed; waxes0011322123
5Chemicals and related products8,8537,47279,17688,5601,4761,96614,00517,534
51Organic chemicals2,7062,30725,26126,9863627233,6656,795
52Inorganic chemicals32312182782826274272
53Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials1012107932323213215
54Medical and pharmaceutical products5,0294,09742,61750,9286488186,0336,635
55Essential oils; perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations6376416,6496,6011531311,1581,057
56Fertilisers (other than those of Division 27)101072015371345
57Plastics in primary forms35323823308478802731
58Plastics in non-primary forms47454364567063647607
59Chemical materials and products nes3563063,4972,8818990841878
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2402341,9861,9515245264,9974,764
61Leather; leather manufactures nes; dressed furskins432829221616
62Rubber manufactures nes101390933135313295
63Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture)28272512193531285260
64Paper, paperboard and articles thereof20171541429582834786
65Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products16141321314864460622
66Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes65554164116665557524
67Iron and steel16141591348270791642
68Non-ferrous metals127120764446494426
69Manufactures of metals nes68846357171221311,2481,194
7Machinery and transport equipment2,1651,65719,12218,5383,9602,51433,19224,808
71Power generating machinery and equipment11865759935143841,1551,278
72Machinery specialised for particular industries55665926141291271,3721,332
73Metalworking machinery222224149116100
74General industrial machinery and equipment nes and parts nes1741441,7071,4301601831,5621,658
75Office machines and automatic data processing machines (including computers)4743974,0833,9174114564,2674,193
76Telecommunications and sound equipment85821,1641,0002841881,7241,645
77Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes and parts8258326,8087,8344193652,8242,763
78Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles)36303212812642212,8402,388
79Other transport equipment (including aircraft)394383,6662,5042,13688117,3329,451
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1,4091,36913,52612,1509521,0007,7418,293
81Prefab buildings; plumbing and electrical fixtures and fittings11141091022827258214
82Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, cushions etc20171821575453489449
83Travel goods, handbags and similar containers3332281411131100
84Articles of apparel; clothing accessories26241971761962081,6661,770
85Footwear4331243951392351
87Professional, scientific and controlling apparatus nes5745265,6544,8551741831,5841,867
88Photographic apparatus; optical goods; watches and clocks1241261,1971,1154244360434
89Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes6456576,1245,6954044232,8603,107
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere3363141302624263229
Unclassified estimates2591025287021541651,5131,545
           
Total14,28512,096128,001134,4738,6107,32774,59568,596
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. October 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
OctOctJan-OctJan-OctOctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
20192020201920202019202020192020
Austria32323362912323271237
Belgium1,83181513,91214,9161431631,3711,588
Bulgaria911115111533332
Croatia544941111515
Cyprus1235230033
Czech Republic38424853695972523574
Denmark65485584964460425465
Estonia111612221911
Finland22182292181221157128
France4524064,5204,3351,5048389,7856,453
Germany1,5471,46111,25514,6755944916,0715,367
Greece881986111,453355750
Hungary 37182752121611157230
Italy 2542993,2963,8041641641,1711,367
Latvia7136365533939
Lithuania372958779482
Luxembourg766978433534
Malta33344610127
Netherlands7158337,1987,0012972392,6112,490
Poland1021149759327273694685
Portugal38283512933016238223
Romania30383263217138885
Slovakia10127992654543
Slovenia81296122433227
Spain2042051,9752,0631151261,1431,357
Sweden71587666477549583409
EU Country not specified2145032453417649971,752
Total EU2735,5964,73547,97953,2083,2082,45426,67023,755
Euro-Zone45,2234,35144,10449,5462,9132,10923,15519,506
         
Great Britain1,3571,04211,3829,9581,8462,04515,30014,614
Northern Ireland2011721,8001,6901431471,4121,379
Total UK1,5581,21413,18311,6481,9882,19216,71115,993
         
Australia7463634788121483100
Brazil49232702432521204173
Canada1331351,2601,4642431476371
China58389367,3508,8474895704,3234,874
India42353642864851533440
Japan1542012,3862,33310692980970
Malaysia192917319019534913395
Mexico1291071,2521,3943635306329
Norway21301952427826489421
Russia61305423642917345251
Saudi Arabia356053852610557
Singapore6438465448267243371
South Africa332234925010910589
South Korea475144754499105730804
Switzerland5974464,7292,8001953981,7013,918
Taiwan27293254115685445464
Thailand50161411154334357326
Turkey36535525724654548506
USA4,1273,51739,18341,6721,10079111,92110,152
Other countries3993233,7964,6462472302,4832,134
Country unknown619741,8881,483550754,0221,701
Total Non-EU (excl UK)7,1326,14666,83969,6173,4142,68131,21328,848
         
Total14,28512,096128,001134,4738,6107,32774,59568,596
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. October 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 SITCOctOctJan-OctJan-OctOctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
20192020201920202019202020192020
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1,5581,21413,18311,6481,9882,19216,71115,993
0Food and live animals5183803,8653,5454313223,1672,976
1Beverages and tobacco29282512234546384375
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels41404163612423246222
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials16153542243111802,3111,829
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes221923654955
5Chemicals and related products4353053,7493,1722523792,2032,148
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material1431161,0969412212171,9681,947
7Machinery and transport equipment2041701,8601,7393826993,5273,639
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1351201,2241,0532282581,9612,092
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere35373493668863896711
EU 2725,5964,73547,97953,2083,2082,45426,67023,755
0Food and live animals3363143,3643,1992582172,1652,304
1Beverages and tobacco41463343123435310341
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels71506794912323247231
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials198781227932668278
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes4431411312123134
5Chemicals and related products4,0543,33533,06339,3885097564,9845,975
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material57605305311611501,6071,400
7Machinery and transport equipment4833985,0184,6581,86092714,32110,562
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5004554,6364,1002041981,6161,675
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere306724636667104631855
USA4,1273,51739,18341,6721,10079111,92110,152
0Food and live animals30373343504320210166
1Beverages and tobacco6452608456111414
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels322415535141
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials0013704069935651
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes00000011
5Chemicals and related products3,0442,64429,29433,7133153133,1213,357
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material15371503074037357350
7Machinery and transport equipment4272693,3172,6795142296,0014,466
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles5414745,2744,1231311121,1251,040
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere42452912710668
China38389367,3508,8474895704,3234,874
0Food and live animals8366715682654651
1Beverages and tobacco11770013
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels353538322723
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials00100000
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes01430000
5Chemicals and related products1271281,3251,4592633330407
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2220234852453549
7Machinery and transport equipment5746234,7755,7012352972,1422,331
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles471104699331641751,2611,452
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere0000676259
Rest of World2,1671,69320,30619,0981,8251,31914,97013,821
0Food and live animals1721491,5001,6958368882853
1Beverages and tobacco22261781802020124139
2Crude materials, inedible, except fuels18182662423029285270
3Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials53121492286015593414
4Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes0025354655
5Chemicals and related products1,1931,05911,74610,8283744833,3665,647
6Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material23191911505470612519
7Machinery and transport equipment4771964,1523,7599703637,2013,810
8Miscellaneous manufactured articles1862111,9221,9412252571,7802,033
9Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere23220171798182
         
Total14,28512,096128,001134,4738,6107,32774,59568,596
1 Trade statistics revised since 2000. October 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
OctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
2019202020192020
Agricultural produce8587147,0536,798
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4062772,8912,558
EU12672542,6702,521
USA3143340362
Rest of World1541401,1531,357
     
Forestry and fishing produce5750650589
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1821194189
EU13025316266
USA0012
Rest of World95139132
     
Industrial produce13,30511,222119,700126,277
Great Britain and Northern Ireland1,0968769,7168,505
EU15,2734,38944,79150,064
USA4,0953,47438,83541,302
Rest of World2,8412,48226,35726,407
     
Unclassified exports65109598809
     
Total14,28512,096128,001134,473
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
OctOctJan-OctJan-Oct
2019202020192020
Producers capital goods ready for use2,7111,36122,07014,233
Great Britain and Northern Ireland2234891,5462,063
EU11,50260411,0407,427
USA330434,3312,342
Rest of World6562245,1532,402
     
Consumption goods ready for use - food drink and tobacco6285665,5075,409
Great Britain and Northern Ireland3313042,9012,736
EU12292032,0172,089
USA444341
Rest of World6456546543
Consumption goods ready for use - other1,3911,49412,33112,333
Great Britain and Northern Ireland4265043,5993,368
EU13703843,2413,460
USA1791531,9601,642
Rest of World4174533,5303,863
     
Materials for further production - agriculture2281811,9261,882
Great Britain and Northern Ireland6353465463
EU16071663697
USA4022308223
Rest of World6535490500
Materials for further production - other3,4763,54031,03133,012
Great Britain and Northern Ireland8577807,3016,651
EU19801,0879,0799,226
USA5395655,1985,864
Rest of World1,1011,1089,45311,272
     
Unclassified imports1751851,7291,726
     
Total8,6107,32774,59568,596
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 (September 2020 in this publication), -4 (June 2020) and -8 (February 2020) 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 2020 was 61%, covering an estimated 91% 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

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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