€ £
2019
All data 2019*

Statistics on
Cross-border goods & services trade
on the island of Ireland

Total Cross-Border Trade
€8.078bn
£7.127bn
  • €5.102 bn
    £4.501 bn
    North - South
  • €2.976 bn
    £2.624 bn
    South - 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
  • 1995
    €1645m
    £1346m
  • 1996
    €1759m
    £1425m
  • 1997
    €2217m
    £1537m
  • 1998
    €2489m
    £1686m
  • 1999
    €2645m
    £1741m
  • 2000
    €3022m
    £1840m
  • 2001
    €2979m
    £1852m
  • 2002
    €2908m
    £1828m
  • 2003
    €2709m
    £1874m
  • 2004
    €2950m
    £2001m
  • 2005
    €3057m
    £2090m
  • 2006
    €3489m
    £2379m
  • 2007
    €3799m
    £2599m
  • 2008
    €3355m
    £2665m
  • 2009
    €2672m
    £2379m
  • 2010
    €2465m
    £2114m
  • 2011
    €2660m
    £2309m
  • 2012
    €2869m
    £2327m
  • 2013
    €2868m
    £2436m
  • 2014
    €3072m
    £2448m
  • 2015
    €3403m
    £2448m
  • 2016
    €3286m
    £2694m
  • 2017
    €3746m
    £3283m
  • 2018
    €3902m
    £3443m
  • 2019
    €4207m
    £3711m

Total
Cross-Border Trade in Manufactured Goods

2019

€4,207m £3,711m

€ £
  • Food drink icon

    Food, drink & tobacco

    Total: 
    €1623.78m
    £1431.65m
    €824.58m
    £727m
    North to South
    €799.2m
    £704.65m
    South to North
  • Manu

    Manufacturing not elsewhere

    Total: 
    €404.58m
    £356.71m
    €83.93m
    £74m
    North to South
    €320.65m
    £282.71m
    South to North
  • Chem

    Chemicals and chemical products

    Total: 
    €515.52m
    £454.53m
    €93.01m
    £82m
    North to South
    €422.51m
    £372.53m
    South to North
  • Metals

    Basic metals & products

    Total: 
    €368.26m
    £324.68m
    €265.40m
    £234m
    North to South
    €102.85m
    £90.68m
    South to North
  • Mechanical

    Mechanical engineering

    Total: 
    €171.53m
    £151.23m
    €86.20m
    £76m
    North to South
    €85.33m
    £75.23m
    South to North
  • Rubber

    Rubber & plastic products

    Total: 
    €186.89m
    £164.77m
    €120.23m
    £106m
    North to South
    €66.66m
    £58.77m
    South to North
  • Non metal

    Non metallic mineral products

    Total: 
    €205.37m
    £181.07m
    €74.86m
    £66m
    North to South
    €130.51m
    £115.07
    South to North
  • Textiles icon

    Textiles, clothing & leather

    Total: 
    €146.73m
    £129.37m
    €37.43m
    £33m
    North to South
    €109.30m
    £96.37m
    South to North
  • Wood icon

    Wood & wood products

    Total: 
    €135.13m
    £119.14m
    €80.53m
    £71m
    North to South
    €54.6m
    £48.14m
    South to North
  • Paper icon

    Pulp paper & publishing

    Total: 
    €155.14m
    £136.78m
    €131.57m
    £116m
    North to South
    €23.57m
    £20.78m
    South to North
  • Transport icon

    Transport equipment

    Total: 
    €174.25m
    £153.63m
    €132.7m
    £117m
    North to South
    €41.55m
    £36.63m
    South to North
  • Electrical

    Electrical & optical equipment

    Total: 
    €94.17m
    £83.03m
    €43.10m
    £38m
    North to South
    €51.07m
    £45.03m
    South 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


  • 0 1 2 3 4
  • 2011
    €3.04bn
    £2.26bn
  • 2012
    €3.16bn
    £2.33bn
  • 2013
    €3.51bn
    £2.60bn
  • 2014
    €3.32bn
    £2.45bn
  • 2015
    €3.27bn
    £2.38bn
  • 2016
    €2.98bn
    £2.47bn
  • 2017
    €3.19bn
    £2.82bn
  • 2018
    €3.48bn
    £3.07bn
  • 2019
    €3.87bn
    £3.41bn

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.

  • Productivity
    'Productivity' bar shows the higher productivity levels experienced by cross-border traders by goods and services sectors, over firms that do not export
  • Turnover
    'Turnover' bar shows the higher turnover levels experienced by cross-border traders by goods and services sectors, over firms that do not export
  • Employment
    'Employment' bar shows the higher employment levels experienced by cross-border traders by goods and services sectors, over firms that do not export
  • 0% 50% 100% 150% 200%
  • NI Goods - ROI Exports Only
    9
    93
    46
  • NI Services - ROI Exports Only
    7
    70
    33
  • Irish-owned Goods - UK Exports Only
    45
    142
    118

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.

During Q1 2021, Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions were in effect in Ireland with all non- essential shops closed and a 5km limit on travel. Increased restrictions in NI were also in effect closing non-essential retail for the duration.

Therefore it is unsurprising most car park counts were lower than the previous quarter, as demonstrated on the infographic below: