The Irish Exporters Association says the value of Irish exports fell by almost 10% in the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year.
The association has also warned that the decline in exports will accelerate in the coming months unless the Government provides some additional boost for the sector. The body warns further falls in exports will lead to increased unemployment in the sector - possibly more than 90,000 jobs.
The IEA said total exports in Q1 were just under €34 billion, down 9.6% from a year earlier. It is expected a 13% drop for the whole of 2009 - a loss of more than €20 billion in export revenue.
The association said Irish exporters had been particularly badly affected by the sharp fall in sterling's value over the past 12 months. Chief executive John Whelan said indigenous exporters depend on the UK market for more than half of their sales. He added that the worst was yet to come as many firms had not yet fully factored in the sterling fall into their prices.
A breakdown showed that goods exports were down 3.4% in Q1 from a year earlier, but this figure was boosted by growth in exports from multinational pharmaceutical and medical devices companies. Agri-food exports dropped 15% and beverages were down 9%.
Goods exports to the UK were down almost 12%, but euro zone exports also fell by almost 10%. Exports to China dropped 21%.
Service exports were also down by around 20%, though the largest sector - computer services - dropped by only 9%.
