Jarlath O'Keefe
14 Apr 2022
The CSO figures for February 2022 demonstrate continued growth of exports to Great Britain with an increase of 21% when compared with February 2021. This brings the total value of exports from Ireland to Great Britain for the month to just over €1billion. This increase was driven by the rise in exports of food and live animals, confirming the continued reliance of Great Britain on the Irish market in these key sectors.
The value of goods imported from Great Britain to Ireland for January to February 2022 confirmed an increase of 112% compared with January to February 2021. This is likely attributable to the fact that shifts in supply chains and trade patterns for larger businesses may have stabilised post Brexit and familiarity with customs challenges increases.
Acquisitions from Northern Ireland remained high in January and February 2022, with the value of imports reaching €732million. This figure is not unexpected given that a number of businesses do not have the additional cash and personnel to devote to customs costs and formalities, making Northern Ireland a more suitable trading partner for many SME’s.
In terms of geographical breakdown for the month, the US once again represented the main non-EU destination accounting for 31% of total exports, a figure which has remained relatively static. The EU accounted for 40% of total goods exports in February 2022, representing an increase of 36% when compared with February 2021. The EU accounted for 31% of total goods imports in February 2022, which is an increase of 20% compared with February 2021.
