merrion street

Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton, today welcomed the latest external trade figures published by the CSO which showed:

• a 5% increase in seasonally-adjusted exports in November compared with October,
• a 9% annual increase in unadjusted exports compared with November 2010
• on both an actual and a seasonally adjusted basis, our exports for November were the second highest on record
• the trade surplus in November increased 16% to €4.31billion, its highest level ever
• a 4.3% increase in exports in the first 11 months of the year, compared to the same period in 2010

Minister Bruton said:

“As I have said before, a strong export performance will be crucial to achieving the economic and jobs recovery we are all working so hard for.

“However in recent months we have seen several signs of deterioration in the global economy, particularly connected with problems in the Eurozone, and several commentators have suggested that our exports could suffer. In that context, today’s results, and the great resilience which our exports are showing in difficult circumstances, are encouraging.