Ireland goods exports jump in February on pharma sales surge

Ireland’s goods exports rose in February from a year earlier, driven by a sharp increase in medical and pharmaceutical sales, figures from the Central Statistics Office showed Tuesday.

Unadjusted exports surged by €8.7 billion, or 54%, to €24.6 billion in February from €15.9 billion a year earlier.

The growth was largely underpinned by a more than doubling in exports of medical and pharmaceutical products, which rose to €15.6 billion and accounted for over 63% of total goods exports for the month.

Seasonally adjusted trade exports grew by €700.9 million, or 2.8%, to €25.5 billion compared with January.

Imports also increased strongly, though not quite as strongly. Seasonally adjusted imports rose 14.8% from January to €12.6 billion, while unadjusted imports climbed 15% annually to €11.8 billion.

This led to a seasonally adjusted trade surplus of €12.9 billion in February, down from €13.9 billion in January.

Exports to the US more than tripled year-on-year, surging to €12.9 billion in February. This made the US Ireland’s largest trading partner by a wide margin, accounting for over half of all goods exports in February. The bulk of exports to the US - 91% - were classified under Chemicals & Related Products, which includes pharmaceuticals.

Imports of medical and pharmaceutical products also jumped, rising 84% annually to €2 billion, or 17% of total imports. Meanwhile, imports of organic chemicals fell by nearly 25% to €853 million.

Among other trading partners, exports to Great Britain were largely unchanged year-on-year at €1.2 billion, while imports from Great Britain declined 3.3% to €1.36 billion.

For the year to date, total exports for January and February combined were €50.4 billion, up 45% from the same period in 2024, while imports increased by 12% to €22.3 billion.

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