Exports of food and live animals increased by €158 million, or 16%, to €1,128 million in March 2022, when compared to the same month in 2021.
According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), record levels of exports and imports occurred in March 2022.
From January to March 2022, total food and live-animal exports were €3,013 million, an increase of €542 million on the same 2021 period.
Meat and meat preparations increased from €324 million in March 2021 to €406 million in March 2022, and dairy products and birds’ eggs jumped from €205 million to €267 million.
Exports exceed €20 billion
The unadjusted value of goods exports for March 2022 was €20,165 million representing an increase of €5,456 million, or 37%, when compared with March 2021 and is the highest monthly value for goods exports on record.
However, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and preparations of such dropped from €72 million in March 2021 to €64 million in March 2022.
And, exports of vegetables and fruit also dropped from €41 million in March 2021 to €35 million in March 2022.
Total exports to Great Britain jumped from €1,246 million in March 2021 to €1,408 million in March 2022.
Food and live animals exports to Great Britain in the same timeframe increased from €270 million to €300 million.
There was a hike in total exports to Northern Ireland of €100 million in March 2022 compared to March 2021. This figure went from €310 million to €410 million, with food and live animals increasing from €108 million to €135 million.
Food and live-animals exports to the EU and the US increased in March 2022 when compared to the same month in 2021 – €293-€398 million and €33-€47 million, respectively.
However, to China, there was a decrease from €72 million in March 2021 to 48 million in the same month in 2022.
Key findings:
- Unadjusted goods exports were €20.2 billion, the highest value of monthly exports on record;
- Unadjusted goods imports were €11 billion, also the highest level recorded;
- Seasonally adjusted goods exports were €18.4 billion;
- Seasonally adjusted goods imports were €9.7 billion;
- Imports from Great Britain were €1.9 billion;
- Exports to Great Britain were €1.4 billion.
Imports
The unadjusted value of goods imports for March 2022 was €11,036 million, representing an increase of €1,817 million, or 20%, when compared with March 2021, and is the highest monthly value for goods imports on record. The value of goods imports for January to March 2022 was €29,147 million, which is an increase of €6,841 million, or 31%, compared with January to March 2021.
Total imports from Great Britain in March 2022 were €1,909 million, compared to €1,368 million in March 2021. During the same month in 2022, food and live-animal imports were €182 million, down from €198 million in 2021.
Imports to Northern Ireland jumped from €332 on March 2021 to €428 in March 2022, with food and live animals imports also increasing from €92 million in March last year, to €115 million in March this year.
Food and live-animals imports to Europe changed by just €1 million – €252 million in March 2021 to €253 million in March 2022.