July 27th 2015
Irish merchandise exports to the Arab countries surged by 29% to €2.2bn in the twelve months to end May 2015. This represented an overall increase of €491m.
The biggest growth markets were:
Saudi Arabia - up by €274m (43%)
UAE - up by €83m (27%)
Egypt - up by €76m (52%)
Kuwait - up by €44m (68%)
The biggest growth sectors were:
Medical/Pharmaceutical - up by €202m (80%)
Essential oils, flavourings etc - up by €194m (36%)
Agri/Food - up by €57m (15%)
Data processing equipment - up by €57m (37%)
Imports from the Arab countries declined by €114m (18%) over the same period due mainly to a drop in the supply of petroleum products from Algeria to Ireland.
These figures do not include the value of the trade in Services over this period, exports of which are estimated to be of at least equivalent value to those of physical goods. This would indicate that the total value of Irish exports to the Arab markets may rise to more than €4.5 billion in 2015.
Arab-Irish trade figures to end May 2015 available here: