Exports fell 14 per cent in October compared with a month earlier, while imports fell 7 per cent, new data from the Central Statistics Office showed today.
Seasonally adjusted exports for the month were €6.2 billion, while imports totalled €3.2 billion. Bloxham stockbrokers described the €2.9 billion trade surplus as "healthy".
However, provisional data showed exports had risen in September by 11 per cent compared with August, while imports slipped 1 per cent in the same month.
Over the period from January to September, exports fell €35 million to €64.4 billion. During that time, exports of computer equipment fell by 25 per cent, while electrical machinery declined 28 per cent. Other areas were more hard hit, with exports of metalliferous ores down 52 per cent and industrial machinery declining 33 per cent.
Some sectors showed an increase in export activity, with medical and pharmaceutical products increasing by 22 per cent, and organic chemicals by 11 per cent.The sector covering other transport equipment, including aircraft, rose 164 per cent.
Exports to Britain declined 15 per cent, while those to Northern Ireland fell 22 per cent. The value of exports to Germany fell 21 per cent between January and September.
"Irish merchandise export volumes have been declining in recent months, but their relative performance has been quite impressive amid the collapse in global trade flows. And in fact, they were higher in September than in the same month last year," said Bloxham economist Alan McQuaid.
"A marked decline in the demand for durable goods characterised the contraction in world trade volumes during late 2008 and early 2009 and, as a result, countries most reliant on such exports witnessed the sharpest falls. The resilience of Ireland's recent merchandise trade performance essentially arises from product effects and, specifically, the dominance of the broad chemicals sector, which has proven to be less exposed to the recent contraction in external demand."
There was some cause for optimism, with the value of goods exported to the United States rising 14 per cent during the same period, while Belgium recorded a 30 per cent rise, and Japan grew 10 per cent.
Imports slipped €10.2 billion to €33.8 billion. The value of vehicles imported into Ireland fell 77 per cent, while petroleum products saw a 39 per cent decline and computer equipment fell 43 per cent.
Imports of other transport equipment, including aircraft, rose 59 per cent.
The value of goods entering the country from Britain declined 32 per cent, while German imports slipped 42 per cent and China decreased by 30 per cent.
The economy imported more goods from the US, with the value of imports rising 19 per cent, while those brought in from Canada rose 13 per cent.
