Business

Trade surplus doubles in January amid decline in imports

Value of goods imports from Britain fell 50% year-on-year in first month of 2024

Total value of goods exported in the first month of 2024 was €18.1bn, up €2.5bn from January 2023. Stock photograph.

Ian Curran
Fri Mar 15 2024 - 11:38

A sharp year-on-year increase in the value of pharmaceutical and medical as well as organic chemical exports contributed to a 22 per cent overall jump in the value of the Republic’s exports in January compared with the same month last year, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have indicated.

After a 6 per cent decline in export values last year amid a slump in the pharma sector, the total value of goods exported in the first month of 2024 was €18.1 billion, up €2.5 billion from January 2023 or 16 per cent, according to preliminary data released on Friday.

Medical and pharmaceutical products exports saw the biggest increase over the 12 month period, climbing by €2.9 billion or 48 per cent to almost €9 billion.

The value of goods imported into the Republic, meanwhile, slumped by €1.9 billion or 17 per cent year-on-year to €9.4 billion. This resulted in a trade surplus of around €8.8 billion in January, more than double the figure recorded in December, 2023.

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“The increase in the surplus is due to a combination of increased exports and reduced imports,” said Ciarán Counihan, a statistician in the CSO’s international trade in goods division. “The largest increase in exports was due to pharmaceuticals, and the largest reduction in imports was seen in fuels.”

Carol Lynch, customs and international trade services partner at BDO, said the figures suggest activity is picking up again in the Republic’s pharmaceutical sector after a slump last year. “The significant news today is the increase in exports of organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Last month we noted that the export of pharmaceuticals had stabilised at a lower level following the increased export activity associated with the Covid pandemic. However, today’s figures, when considered in the context of increased exports for the past few months, suggests that activity is once again picking up in the Irish pharma sector – which is a very welcome development.”

Geographically goods imports from Britain declined by 50 per cent in January compared with January 2023, after falling by 12 per cent in 2023.

Exports to Britain, meanwhile, jumped by 16 per cent or €200 million. “We will watch this next month in light of the border controls introduced at end January to assess the impact particularly on the domestic food and agri-industry,” Ms Lynch said.

Overall, she said the figures were “extremely good and reflect a positive outlook for the economy, but we have to also factor in forthcoming potential issues in terms of geopolitical tensions on the impact on global trade throughout 2024”.

Ian Curran

Ian Curran

Ian Curran is a Business reporter with The Irish Times

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