February 15, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN – Ireland’s exports and imports both reached record highs in January, having risen sharply last year, according to the latest trade figures released by the Central Statistics Office.
Preliminary figures for February indicate the January records are set to be broken, but the figures reveal that imports are rising faster than exports.
Exports in January were valued at _3,154 million, up 24 percent in a year. Imports were _2,436 million, up 29 percent over the same period.
The trade surplus of exports over imports was _718 million, up 9 percent.
The biggest increase in trade is with the United States, where exports are up 86 percent and imports up 75 percent.
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The biggest categories of exports were organic chemicals (up 55 percent) and computer equipment (up 26 percent).
Computer equipment also accounted for the biggest import increase, up 77 percent.