Slump sends imports to 10-year low

Official figures show that the value of goods imported into the country in August fell to its lowest level in more than a decade, as consumers cut back on spending. Preliminary figures from the Central Statistics Office showed that exports also fell in August.

Exports fell by 6% from July to €6.5 billion, while imports dropped 4% to €3.55 billion. The figures are adjusted to take seasonal variations into account.

But detailed figures for the first seven months of the year show that exports held up, increasing to €51.3 billion, up 2% compared with the same period last year.

The figures were helped by strong growth in medical and pharmaceutical and chemical exports. Exports to the US in the seven months grew by 16%, but the impact of sterling's weakness was shown, with a 14% fall in exports to Britain and a 22% drop for Northern Ireland.

Imports in the first seven months of 2009 slumped 23% compared with a year earlier to €27.3 billion, with road vehicle imports down almost 80% and computer equipment imports 41% lower. Imports from Britain dropped 32%, while imports from China were down almost 30%.

NIB economist Ronnie O'Toole said the import demands of the domestic economy had fallen rapidly as consumers increase their savings. He said imports of consumer goods had risen from €11 billion in 2000 to a peak of €17 billion in 2007, but the final figure for the whole of 2009 was likely to be €13.5 billion. The economist said more than half of this year's fall was due to lower imports of cars and other vehicles.

Separate CSO figures showed that factory gate prices - the price of goods before they reach consumers - dropped by 0.5% in September from August. This brought the annual fall to 3.5%.