DUBLIN, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ireland exported a record high of 152.5 billion euros (about 165 billion U.S. dollars) worth of goods in 2019, up by 8.5 percent compared with 2018, according to the latest preliminary figures released by the country's Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In 2019, the country imported a total of 89.1 billion euros worth of goods, down 3 percent over a year ago, said the CSO, adding that the country's goods trade surplus stood at about 63.4 billion euros, up by 30 percent year-on-year.
The largest category of the goods exported by Ireland in 2019 was medical and pharmaceutical products, whose exports increased by 7 percent to nearly 50 billion euros in the year, accounting for nearly one-third of the country's total exports, said the CSO.
The drop in the imports was largely due to a decrease in the country's imports of other transport equipment including aircraft in 2019, which fell by 10 percent to 19.8 billion euros, making up more than 22 percent of the country's total imports, it said.
The European Union (EU) accounted for nearly 48 percent of the total goods exported by Ireland in 2019 with the remaining 52 percent or so to be balanced by non-EU countries, said the CSO, adding that the United States was the largest export destination for Ireland in 2019, accounting for almost 31 percent of the country's total exports in the year.
Imports from the EU were valued at 52.9 billion euros in 2019, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the country's total imports, it said, adding that Britain was the largest source of imported goods for Ireland in 2019, accounting for almost 23 percent of the country's total imports. (1 euro= 1.083 U.S. dollars)
