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Goods exports in July up 3% on June – Minister Bruton
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, today (Friday) welcomed new merchandise trade figures published by the CSO which show that goods exports in July are up 3% on June. This led to a seasonally adjusted trade balance of €3,210 million which is an 8% increase on the previous month.
Following a number of challenging months in export markets, these improving figures are encouraging.
The agri-food sector continues to perform well with exports of food and live animals up by 8% for January-July compared to the same period last year. Chemicals and related products which are mainly related to the Pharmaceutical sector continue to dominate our exports with this sector accounting for over 30 billion in exports for the year to date accounting for 59% of total Merchandise Exports.
The USA is our biggest single export market with €10.989 billion in exports from January to July, which is a 4% increase on the same period last year.
Minister Bruton said: “A strong export performance will be crucial to delivering the recovery in growth and jobs we are all working so hard to achieve. Through the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government is determined to rebuild a sustainable economy based on enterprise, innovation and exports, and we are delivering on measures to deepen and develop the impact of multinational investment here and to make it easier for Irish companies to export more. The results are beginning to show, with an extra 3,000 jobs being created every month in the private sector for the past year.
“It is clear to me from the trade and investment missions I have travelled on that while conditions in international markets remain difficult, Irish companies and multinational companies based in Ireland are working very hard and can compete with the very best on the global stage. Today’s figures, coming after a challenging period in export markets earlier this year, are very welcome, and I am determined to continue improving supports for exporters to deliver the growth and jobs we badly need”.