EXPORTS CONTINUED to hold up well in June, driven in the main by strength in the medical, pharmaceutical and chemical fields.

The latest data from the Central Statistics Office shows that exports were 5 per cent stronger in June than in May, on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

When seasonal adjustments are stripped out, the value of exports in June was €7.6 billion, up 6.1 per cent on a year earlier.

The figures were less positive on the import side, however, with general economic weakness leading to a 9 per cent seasonally-adjusted drop in imports between May and June.

On an unadjusted basis, the value of imports in June was 24.2 per cent lower than in the same month a year earlier at €3.7 billion.

A breakdown of figures for the first five months of the year shows that exports were up by 2 per cent on the same period of 2008 at €36.8 billion.