Preliminary figures show that the value of goods exported in March was €7.28 billion, down 6% from February. The Central Statistics Office said imports were unchanged at €4.14 billion. The figures are adjusted to take seasonal variations into account.
Detailed figures for the first two months of 2009 show a 4% fall in exports compared with the same period last year to €13.9 billion, with electrical machinery down 40% and computer equipment down 29%.
Exports to China were down 24% in the first two months, while exports to Britain fell by 6%, but exports to the US were 6% ahead of the same period last year. The US is Ireland's export market, followed by Britain.
Imports for the first two months slumped 25% from a year earlier to €10.7 billion as spending in the economy weakened, with imports of road vehicles plummeting 74%. Imports of computer equipment were down 34%, while imports of all types of machinery were down sharply.
Separate CSO figures showed that the volume of industrial production in March was down 6.7% compared with the same month last year. But production in the first quarter of 2009 was 5.7% higher than in the previous quarter.
In March, the 'modern' sector - including technology and chemicals - showed a 2.9% annual decline, while there was a 17.9% drop in the traditional sector.
