New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that exports declined in April compared with record figures in March as businesses had started to prepare for the imposition of tariffs by the Trump administration, but they still remained above April 2024 figures.
The CSO said that exports fell by 43%, or €16.24 billion, to €21.9 billion in April compared with the March total of €38.1 billion, mainly due to a fall of exports to the US.
Exports to the US fell by 62% to €9.7 billion in April compared with March’s figure of €25.7 billion.
But on an annual basis exports increased by 12.7% to €21.9 billion in April of this year compared to €19.4 billion the same time last year.
The CSO noted that exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products sank by €12.8 billion (54%) in April from March. However, exports of these products increased on an annual basis, rising by 23.6% to €10.9 billion from April 2024’s figure of €8.8 billion.
In the first four months of this year, exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products represented 60.2% of total exports – a 117% increase on figures from 2024 – and highlighting the significance of the pharmaceutical industry to the Irish economy.
Meanwhile, the CSO said that imports declined by 18% to €10.8 billion in April compared with March, while on an annual basis imports dipped by 0.2% in April compared with the same time last year.
The CSO said the seasonally adjusted trade surplus sank by 53.7% to €12.7 billion in April from €23.6 billion March.
Ireland’s top exporting partners in April were the US, the Netherlands and Great Britain, with Ireland exporting 44.5% (€9.7 billion), 9.5% (€2.1 billion) and 6.2% (€1.35 billion) of total export goods respectively to these countries.
Ireland imported the highest value of goods from Germany, Great Britain and the US in April with these countries representing 15% (€1.6 billion), 12.4% (€1.3 billion) and 11.3% (€1.2 billion) of the total import trade for the month.
The CSO also noted that exports to Great Britain inched 0.3% higher to €1.348 billion in April from €1.34 billion the same time last year.
Janette Maxwell, International Indirect Tax Partner at Grant Thornton Ireland, said that despite surging in the first three months of 2025, exports of goods from Ireland to the US fell by €16 billion to €9.7 billion in April 2025 compared with March figure of €25.7 billion.
“Imports of products to the US from Ireland likely plummeted as Irish traders ended the front-loading of goods across the Atlantic ahead of the potential tariff impact,” she said.
But she said that despite this slow down, the US remained Ireland’s top exporting partner (€9.7 billion) for April, well ahead of the second and third highest export partners being Netherlands and Great Britain respectively, demonstrating the huge dependence the Irish market still has on US exports.
