Exports fell by €616 million, or 7 per cent, to €8.75 billion from January to February, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

At the same time, imports rose by €409 million, or 9 per cent, to €4.98 million leading to a 21 per cent fall in the trade surplus to €3.77 billion.

Unadjusted figures reveal the value of exports increased by €40 million or 0.5 per cent on an annual basis to €8.38 billion.

Exports of electrical machinery jumped 155 per cent or €345 million to €568 million over the year. Exports of food and live animals increased by 5 per cent or €35 million to €778 million over the same period.

However, medical and pharmaceutical product exports fell by 6 per cent or €133 million to €2.18 billion from February 2015. Imports fell by 1 per cent or €64 million to €4.94 billion on a yearly basis, the figures show.

Organic chemical imports rose by 47 per cent or €115 million to €362 million over the year, while imports of vehicles jumped by 30 per cent or €95 million to €410 million.

Petrol imports were down 32 per cent or €99 million over the year to €212 million.