The Economic and Social Research Institute estimates that Brexit has led to a 45% reduction in goods imports coming from the UK to Ireland.
In its opening statement to the Seanad Brexit Committee, it sets out the impact of Brexit on Ireland on goods trade.
While imports from the UK are down, the think tank explains that in contrast, there has been "very little reduction observed over the past year" in Irish exports to the UK.
However, some individual sectors have experienced very large falls in exports, such as the food and beverage sector.
The ESRI estimates that Brexit led to a 25% reduction in Irish food exports to the UK and 40% reductions in beverage exports in the first half of 2021.
Imports coming from the UK to Ireland accounted for 33% of Irish imports in 2019, compared to 12% now.
Exports from Ireland to the UK have fallen from 14% to 8%.
The uneven impact on imports rather than exports is due to the immediate introduction of customs requirements from the EU side but a more gradual phased in approach on the UK side.
This means the full impact of the costs to Irish exporters associated with Brexit is not fully known, as further customs requirements are due to be introduced by the UK in 2022.
There has been a significant increase in trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic, although this is not enough to offset the reduction in trade between the island and Britain.
Imports coming from Northern Ireland have grown by close to 90% due to Brexit.
In 2015, Northern Ireland accounted for 1.5% of Irish imports and exports. This year, Northern Ireland imports to Ireland have gone up to 5%.
Director of the ESRI, Professor Alan Barrett, and Research Professor Martina Lawless, are both due to appear before the Seanad Select Committee this afternoon.
They will tell senators that the 'Trade and Cooperation Agreement' helped to avoid the worst consequences of Brexit, but did not retain the status quo of free market access.
Instead, a range of non-tariff barriers in the form of new regulatory and customs procedures were put in place.
Brexit has led to a 36% decrease in aggregate EU imports from the UK and a fall in exports to the UK of 24%.
The reductions were particularly sharp in January and February, followed by some recovery in March.
April to June has been relatively stable.
According to its statistical models, Brexit has accounted for about two-thirds of the observed year-on-year change in trade with the remaining third due to the effects of the pandemic.
