2019
All data 2019*
€
£
Statistics on
Cross-border goods & services trade
on the island of Ireland
Total Cross-Border Trade
€8.078bn
£7.127bn
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€5.102 bn£4.501 bnNorth - South -
€2.976 bn£2.624 bnSouth - North
Sources: BESES Statistics (NISRA 2018)* for NI firms and CSO for Irish firms. *Data on trade between Northern Ireland and Ireland is gathered through NISRA’s BESES Survey which currently has a lag of approximately 2 years, hence the 2018 figures are the most recently available for cross-border trade totals.
Total
Cross-Border Trade in Manufactured Goods
1995 - 2019
€
£
The chart below shows the total Cross-Border trade in goods (millions) from 1995 to 2019
- 0 1250 2500 3750 5000
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Total
Cross-Border Trade in Manufactured Goods
2019
€4,207m £3,711m
€
£
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Food, drink & tobacco
Total:€1623.78m£1431.65m€824.58m£727mNorth to South€799.2m£704.65mSouth to North -
Manufacturing not elsewhere
Total:€404.58m£356.71m€83.93m£74mNorth to South€320.65m£282.71mSouth to North -
Chemicals and chemical products
Total:€515.52m£454.53m€93.01m£82mNorth to South€422.51m£372.53mSouth to North -
Basic metals & products
Total:€368.26m£324.68m€265.40m£234mNorth to South€102.85m£90.68mSouth to North -
Mechanical engineering
Total:€171.53m£151.23m€86.20m£76mNorth to South€85.33m£75.23mSouth to North -
Rubber & plastic products
Total:€186.89m£164.77m€120.23m£106mNorth to South€66.66m£58.77mSouth to North -
Non metallic mineral products
Total:€205.37m£181.07m€74.86m£66mNorth to South€130.51m£115.07South to North -
Textiles, clothing & leather
Total:€146.73m£129.37m€37.43m£33mNorth to South€109.30m£96.37mSouth to North -
Wood & wood products
Total:€135.13m£119.14m€80.53m£71mNorth to South€54.6m£48.14mSouth to North -
Pulp paper & publishing
Total:€155.14m£136.78m€131.57m£116mNorth to South€23.57m£20.78mSouth to North -
Transport equipment
Total:€174.25m£153.63m€132.7m£117mNorth to South€41.55m£36.63mSouth to North -
Electrical & optical equipment
Total:€94.17m£83.03m€43.10m£38mNorth to South€51.07m£45.03mSouth to North
The difference between the total of the sectoral figures and the total cross-border trade in goods figure is due to the omission of some sectoral figures not publically available.
Total
Cross-Border Trade in Services *
* including wholesale and retail services
2019
€3.87bn £3.41bn
€
£
The chart below shows the total Cross-Border Services trade (billions) from 2011 to 2019
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Exporter Benefits by Firm Type
InterTradeIreland undertook research in 2019 which showed that cross-border traders have higher productivity, turnover and employment figures.
Sources: BESES Statistics (NISRA 2018) for NI firms and CSO CIP for Irish firms.
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Productivity'Productivity' bar shows the higher productivity levels experienced by cross-border traders by goods and services sectors, over firms that do not export
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Turnover'Turnover' bar shows the higher turnover levels experienced by cross-border traders by goods and services sectors, over firms that do not export
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Employment'Employment' bar shows the higher employment levels experienced by cross-border traders by goods and services sectors, over firms that do not export
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NI Goods - ROI Exports Only
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NI Services - ROI Exports Only
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Irish-owned Goods - UK Exports Only
Cross-border shopping activity
Our Retail Monitor records the number of cars parked in central shopping car parks in the border areas of the island both North and South as an indicator of cross-border shopping activity.
For Q2 of 2021 non-essential retail in Northern Ireland reopened on 30th April, a number of weeks ahead of that in Ireland on 17th May.
Due to the earlier opening of non-essential retain in NI, Enniskillen had the highest incidence of South to North cross-border shopping in Q2 2021 at 53%, rising from 14% in Q1 2021. Overall shoppers from the South accounted for almost a third of cars in Northern car parks this quarter. While North to South shopping only rose by 2% overall to a total of 7% of cars in Southern car parks.
Hospitality venues remained closed in Ireland until 7th June with indoor hospitality remaining closed for this quarter, while in Northern Ireland, outdoor hospitality was permitted from 30th April 2021and indoor hospitality from 24th May 2021.
Refer to the infographic below for more details.
