NEW FIGURES RELEASED today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have shown a big increase in trade surplus for the month of August.

Goods exports have seen an increase of €409 million from this time last year and now stand at €7.39 billion. This is an increase of 6% from August 2013.

When seasonally adjusted exports increased by 23% this summer from €1.47 billion to €7.97 billion between July and August.

Areas of performance 

Exports of organic chemicals accounted for the bulk of the increase in exports. They saw an increase of €456 million from the same time last year.

Medical and pharmaceutical products saw an increase of €16 million over the twelve month period from €1.804 billion to €1.820 billion.

Meat and meat preparations saw an increase of €20 million over the period from €247 million to €267 million while the exports of dairy products and birds’ eggs fell by €25 million from €182 million to €157 million.

Reaction 

The latest figures were welcomed by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton. Speaking about the increase in exports, the Minister said:

Today’s figures are very encouraging, with goods exports showing impressive year-on-year and month-on-month growth. What is particularly encouraging is that they appear to be driven by sectors which we have specifically targeted as part of our plan, including the pharma and manufacturing areas.

Today’s figures also show the largest surplus so far this year. This comes after a surplus low of €6.510 billion in July.

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