Minister Kelleher comments on the latest Merchandise trade figures

The Minister for Trade and Commerce, Mr. Billy Kelleher, T.D., welcomed the latest trade statistics published by the Central Statistics Office today, which give final merchandise trade data for 2009. The full year data shows that our Merchandise Exports fell by just 3% over 2008 and, given a significant fall in Imports (-22%), this resulted in the highest ever annual merchandise trade surplus of €38.7 billion. The Minister welcomed the fact that our export performance had been so resilient in such a difficult economic environment and that it compared very favourably with many of our EU neighbours, some of whom have experienced falls of over 20% in exports in recent times, as shown in recent data published by the European Commission’s statistical agency, EUROSTAT.

While there was an understandably significant decline in our computer exports, due to the decision of Dell to relocate abroad, the Minister welcomed the fact that our Pharmaceutical exports rose significantly (+17%) and Chemical exports also increased. Our exports to two very significant markets, the USA and China also showed healthy increases.

Separately this week, the CSO also published data on our Services Exports for 2009 and these exports actually achieved a very slight increase on the previous year, which is a remarkable feat considering the current depressed trading conditions. When Merchandise and Services Exports are combined, our total exports for 2009 were €153 billion, representing a fall of less than 2% on the 2008 data. Given the significant decline in Merchandise Imports, we recorded a total trade surplus of €34 billion for the year, the highest ever achieved.

Minister Kelleher said that this data showed the resilience of Irish exporters in difficult times and represented a strong vindication of the Government’s work in promoting an export-led recovery. Net Exports are a significant contributor to GDP growth and our continued strong export performance is a key factor in contributing to our future economic recovery

The Minister concluded by saying “this focus on trade success will greatly assist in overcoming the wider and very challenging economic climate ahead”.

ENDS/TC425

Friday 26^th March 2010