Northern Ireland's trade deficit with the Republic has narrowed sharply and the North could soon be in the black, the North's Economy Minister Baroness Denton has stated.
Exports to the South are growing far faster than imports from the Republic, and, as a result, Northern Ireland's trade gap fell from £350 million sterling in 1992 to around £150 million in 1995.
A report commissioned by the Industrial Development Board shows sales to the Republic rose by more than 28 per cent to £537 million in 1994 and by a further 18 per cent the following year to £632 million. Imports from the Republic, by contrast, have grown at a more modest rate - up 3 per cent to £722 million in 1994 and by another 9 per cent the next year to £789 million.