BOTH EXPORTS AND imports decreased during the month of June, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
The disappointing export data comes after a much improved May, bringing about an up-and-down pattern for Ireland’s much talked about export-led recovery.
Preliminary numbers for June show exports declined by €126 million or 1.7 per cent in the month, while imports fell by €85 million (over 2 per cent). That comes after significant 7 per cent jump in May.
As a result, the overall trade surplus decreased by 1.2 per cent to €3.4 billion.
When compared to this time last year, exports fell from €7.84 billion to €7.4 billion.
Despite the ongoing economic worries and debt crisis, EU countries continue to account for the vast majority (62 per cent) of total goods with Great Britain and Belgium alone taking 30 per cent of total exports.
The USA is the other main destination with 19 per cent of exports being shipped across the Atlantic.
Great Britain is also the main source of imports – a total of €1.14 billion.
For the first six months of 2012 exports amounted to €46.3 billion and imports to €24.9 billion, representing a trade surplus of €21.3 billion.
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