Irish exports held up better in January than imports from Britain

Dublin Port Tunnel. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Sarah Collins

March 18 2021 02:15 PM

Goods imports from Great Britain fell by over two-thirds in January 2021, compared to a year earlier, as Brexit and Covid-19 hit traders.

The Central Statistics Office said imports from England, Scotland and Wales fell by €906m (65pc) to €497 million compared to January 2020.

Exports to Great Britain held up better, falling just 14pc (€149m) compared with January 2020, with chemicals exports actually up by 56pc.

According to figures published by the CSO on Thursday, food and live animal imports from Great Britain were down 75pc (€62m) and mineral fuels were down 71pc (€57m) on January 2020.

There were also large decreases in the imports of chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, the CSO said.

At a global level, Ireland's total imports fell by 20pc while total goods exports decreased by 12pc compared to January 2020.

“Traders reported that a combination of factors contributed to the large reduction in imports from Great Britain in January 2021,” said Orla McCarthy, Senior Statistician with the CSO.

“These included the challenges of complying with customs requirements.

“Other factors identified by traders were stockpiling of goods in Q4 2020 in preparation for Brexit, substitution with goods from other countries, and a reduction in trade volumes due to the impact of COVID-19 related restrictions throughout January.”

The UK has suspended most paperwork and physical checks on imports from the EU as it gets its IT systems up and running. The new rules. originally intended to be phased in from 1 April, have been delayed until at least October.

Under the 2019 Brexit deal, Northern Ireland is part of the UK’s customs territory but effectively remains within the EU Single Market.

Irish hauliers are still reporting difficulties with imports from the UK as companies get to grips with new customs formalities.

The UK’s Office for National Statistics said this week that exports to the EU were down more than 40pc in January.

However, the UK’s Brexit point man, David Frost, urged caution in interpreting the figures, saying that much of the reduction in exports could be down to Brexit stockpiling last year and the Covid-19 lockdown.

He said the dip in trade was “starting to unwind” and that overall freight volumes between the UK and the EU have been back to their normal levels since the start of February, a fact that UK hauliers have disputed.