2019
All data 2019*
€
£
Statistics on
Cross-border goods & services trade
on the island of Ireland
Total Cross-Border Trade
€8.390bn
£7.397bn
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€5.105 bn£4.501 bnNorth - South -
€3.285 bn£2.896 bnSouth - North
Sources: BESES Statistics (NISRA 2019)* 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 2019 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
€4,518m £3,983m
€
£
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Food, drink & tobacco
Total:€1835.05m£1617.93m€824.58m£727mNorth to South€1010.47m£890.93mSouth to North -
Manufacturing not elsewhere
Total:€407.33m£359.14m€83.93m£74mNorth to South€323.4m£285.14mSouth to North -
Chemicals and chemical products
Total:€518.62m£457.26m€93.01m£82mNorth to South€425.61m£375.26mSouth to North -
Basic metals & products
Total:€393.31m£346.77m€265.40m£234mNorth to South€127.9m£112.77mSouth to North -
Mechanical engineering
Total:€181.7m£160.2m€86.20m£76mNorth to South€95.5m£84.2mSouth to North -
Rubber & plastic products
Total:€201.72m£177.85m€120.23m£106mNorth to South€81.49m£71.85mSouth to North -
Non metallic mineral products
Total:€225.44m£198.77m€74.86m£66mNorth to South€150.58m£132.77South to North -
Textiles, clothing & leather
Total:€148.13m£130.60m€37.43m£33mNorth to South€110.70m£97.60mSouth to North -
Wood & wood products
Total:€135.15m£119.16m€80.53m£71mNorth to South€54.62m£48.16mSouth to North -
Pulp paper & publishing
Total:€160.03m£141.09m€131.57m£116mNorth to South€28.46m£25.09mSouth to North -
Transport equipment
Total:€177.33m£156.35m€132.7m£117mNorth to South€44.63m£39.35mSouth to North -
Electrical & optical equipment
Total:€107.23m£94.54m€43.10m£38mNorth to South€64.13m£56.54mSouth 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 Q3 of 2021 restrictions in NI had eased allowing for close contact services, but level 5 restrictions remained in Ireland.
Enniskillen continues to have the highest incidence of South to North cross-border shopping this year, with Q2 2021 peaking at 53%, then dropping to 37% for Q3. Overall shoppers from the South accounted for a fifth of cars in Northern car parks this quarter. While North to South shopping continues to be a lot lower than shoppers travelling from the South to the North with this quarter showing a total overall of 8% Northern cars in Southern car parks.
Refer to the infographic below for more details.
