Post-Brexit trade: Irish exports to Britain jump by 70 per cent
Irish goods exports to Great Britain increased by nearly 70 per cent in the last year, according to new figures published in Ireland today.
The figures, released by the Irish Central Statistics Office, also show that goods imports from Great Britain to Ireland dropped by 32 per cent in the first half of 2021 – a drop of €2.5bn compared to the first half of 2020.
Exports of goods from Ireland to Great Britain jumped to €1.42bn in June 2021 – an increase of 68 per cent from the same time last year.
At the same time, Irish imports from Great Britain declined by 16 per cent over the same period of time – dropping to €1.1bn. Food, live animals and manufactured goods imports saw the largest drop off since June 2020.
Post-Brexit trade
Since January 2021, Great Britain is no longer part of the EU’s single market or customs union – making trade between Ireland and Great Britain more complicated.
The figures suggest that the UK’s exit from the EU has had an impact on trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic, with imports from Northern Ireland in the first half of 2021 significantly higher than the same period last year.
Imports from Northern Ireland increased to 1.8 billion euro between January and June 2021, compared with €998m in 2020.
At the same time, the figures show that Irish exports to Northern Ireland grew 42 per cent in the first half of 2021 – rising to 1.6 billion euro compared with 2020.
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, Northern Ireland remains in the customs territory of the UK – but customs checks and controls are applied to goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland also remains effectively in the EU’s single markets for goods.
Overall, seasonally adjusted goods exports from Ireland increased by €139m in June 2021, a 1 per cent increase, since May 2021.
This means the figures remove any changes that may occur due to seasonal trade patterns.
According to the latest figures, exports to Great Britain account for 10% of Ireland’s total exports – the corresponding figure for the EU is 36 per cent. Total goods imports from the EU to Ireland jumped by 50 per cent in the last year.