Preliminary official figures show that Ireland posted a record monthly trade surplus of just over €4.3 billion in November last year.
The Central Statistics Office said seasonally adjusted exports increased by 5% from October to just over €8 billion, as imports dropped by 6% to €3.7 billion.
The CSO said November exports were 9% higher compared with the same month in 2010, while imports were up 2%.
More detailed figures for the first ten months of 2011 show that exports of just under €77 billion were 4% ahead of the same period in 2010. Imports were up 7% to €40.1 billion.
Earlier this month, the Irish Exporters Association estimated that goods exports for the whole of 2011 were up 3.5% compared with 2010, though it forecast more sluggish growth this year.
