The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) has ranked this country’s export economy as the 35th largest one in the world. While Ireland’s trade and export industry is dominated by foreign companies, it is undeniable that exports form a large part of the national income.

Largely because of its large fertile pastures, Ireland’s main exported commodity are its agri-food and drinks, composed of dairy products, cattle and beef which makes up about 8.4% of the country’s total exports. It is estimated that around €9 billion worth of these items are exported annually.

In addition, Ireland also exports nitrogen heterocyclic compounds ($19 billion), scented mixtures ($7 billion) and computers at $5.4 billion. These export commodities are primarily targeted to the United States ($ 22.billion), the United Kingdom ($19 billion), Germany ($10 billion) and France ($8.4 billion).

The recession has been a big blow to Ireland’s economy which is evident in the food and beverage segment. While the value of Irish exports decreased by 12%, the presence of multinational companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Google, exports have been kept alive.

Chart Showing GDP Growth Compared to rest of world

Ireland receives variety of importable goods such as the refined petroleum which is valued at around $4.4 billion), packaged medicaments at $3.7 billion), followed by planes, helicopters and space craft with $2.4 billion. It also imports computers and data processing equipment, chemicals, textiles and clothing from its import partners.

These import commodities are sourced from primarily from Western countries such as the United Kingdom ($24 billion), the United States ($6.93 billion) and Germany ($6.4 billion) and some Asian countries like China ($3.8 billion).

Wood is also an important commodity that is imported by Ireland because the timber industry has been suffering from deforestation issues.