Goods Exports Increase 2.4% In 2014

Goods exports increased by 2.4% in 2014, new figures from the CSO have revealed.

In December, goods exports levels were 18% higher than December 2013, while notable increases were recorded in exports to Japan (4%), USA (8%), China (9%) and France (16%).

Elsewhere, sectors also showing a rise in exports included medical and pharmaceutical products (5%) and food and live animals (7%).

The figures have been welcomed by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD.

He said: "At the heart of our Action Plan for Jobs is building a new sustainable economy based on exports and enterprise. The plan which we started implementing after taking office was based on the strategy of initially targeting the exporting parts of the economy for growth, before subsequently aiming for increased activity in the domestic economy.

"That strategy has seen results and over the past four years we have seen strong performances in the exporting parts of the economy, with almost 40,000 jobs added in those areas – and jobs in the domestic economy starting to grow in more recent years.

"The exporting parts of the economy have seen some challenges in recent years, with the pharmaceutical patent cliff and international moves on corporation tax, but in Ireland all the indications have shown that the underlying performance has remained strong."

He added: "Today's figures are very encouraging, with goods exports showing impressive year-on-year 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 food areas."

(JP/IT)