The Republic's monthly trade surplus with the rest of the world continues to shrink but the balance of trade remains strongly in the black. Exports exceeded imports by £2.24 billion (€2.84 billion) in September according to preliminary figures released by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.
The September outcome represents a fall on August's surplus of £2.33 billion and continues a trend that has been apparent since June. Despite this development the surplus for the full 12 months of 2001 is likely to be the largest on record, exceeding the £15.1 billion surplus recorded in 2000, according to Dr Dan McLaughlin, economist with Bank of Ireland Treasury. The strong growth in exports seen in the first half of the year will more than compensate for the decline in the second half.
"The absolute level of exports has been flat and in one sense this is positive in that they have not fallen. But growth on a year by year basis is slowing to 2.7 per cent," said Dr McLaughlin.
The preliminary figures released yesterday showed exports fell by only £80 million to £5.94 billion while imports were almost unchanged at £3.7 billion in September. Exports in the eight months to the end of August totalled £48 billion compared to £41 billion in the same period last year. The biggest increase in the year to date was in medical and pharmaceutical products, up 82 per cent to £4.7 billion, and electrical machinery, up 45 per cent to £5.1 billion.
One of the factors driving down imports is the fall-off in investment in Ireland by US multinationals who would normally be large purchasers of imported raw materials and finished goods. Despite this imports of electrical machinery are up 29 per cent in the first nine months of the year while computer equipment imports are up 15 per cent. Imports of road vehicles fell 20 per cent.
Exports to Britain were £1.25 billion in August compared to £1 billion the previous August, while exports to the US - the second largest market for Irish goods - fell from £995 million to £929 million. Exports to Germany, the third largest market, were up sharply from £535 million to £807 million, despite signs that the German economy is also close to recession.
