2020
All data 2020*
€
£
Statistics on
Cross-border goods & services trade
on the island of Ireland
Total Cross-Border Trade
€7.733bn
£6.850bn
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€4.625 bn£4.097 bnNorth - South -
€3.108 bn£2.753 bnSouth - North
Sources: BESES Statistics (NISRA 2020)* 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 2020 figures are the most recently available for cross-border trade totals.
Total
Cross-Border Trade in Manufactured Goods
1995 - 2020
€
£
The chart below shows the total Cross-Border trade in goods (millions) from 1995 to 2020
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Total
Cross-Border Trade in Manufactured Goods
2020
€4,227m £3,744m
Total
Cross-Border Trade in Services *
* including wholesale and retail services
2020
€3.50bn £3.10bn
€
£
The chart below shows the total Cross-Border Services trade (billions) from 2011 to 2020
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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.
The latest data collected by InterTradeIreland on cross-border shopping levels (Q2 2022) reveals that 8% of cars in Irish retail car parks are from NI and 29% of cars in NI retail parks are from Ireland.
Enniskillen continues to have the highest incidence of South to North cross-border shopping, with 37% of cars in retail parks being from Ireland. This is a marked reduction from 53% last quarter. However, that reduction has translated in part into increases in other areas, with 26% of cars in Derry~Londonderry retail parks and 14% in Newry carparks being from Ireland (rises of 8% and 5% respectively). Overall, shoppers from the South accounted for over a quarter of cars in Northern car parks in Q2 2022, at a steady 29% for three quarters now though there is a 2% drop when compared with the same period last year. Levels of North to South shopping continues to be a lot lower than the number of shoppers travelling from the South to the North. This period does evidence a small (1%) increase in South to North shopping when compared with the same period last year and a 1% increase on last quarter. The changing course of the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions is noteworthy when comparing periods from 2021 and 2022.
Refer to the infographic below for more details.
