Exports to countries outside the EU have stalled for the fourth consecutive month as US demand for Irish goods continues to fall. The value of Irish goods and services exported to non-EU countries in September fell slightly to £2.15 billion (€2.7 billion), according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Imports also fell and were down by £142 million to £1.12 billion. The large fall in imports meant Ireland's trade surplus with non-EU countries has continued to widen from £890 million to £1.03 billion, despite no growth in exports.
The US is the most important market for Irish goods outside of Europe and sales to this market last month were unchanged on September of last year. Exports to the US for the year to date, however, were up 21 per cent indicating that strong demand for Irish goods in the first half of the year had evaporated as the world's largest economy continued to slow in the second half.
Retail sales figures for October published in the US yesterday held out the hope that the slump might not last as long as some had predicted. US retail sales rose 7.1 per cent in October compared with a 2.2 per cent slump in September.
Ireland is the most exposed of all the euro-zone economies to US recession, according to ABN-Amro bank which yesterday published a review of the Irish economy, which says for every one percentage point the US economy slows, Ireland slows by 0.5 per cent. Trade with non-EU countries accounts for about 35 per cent of total external trade, according to the CSO.
