The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show the country's trade surplus fell by 11% to €3.715 billion in October.
The CSO says that seasonally adjusted exports fell by 4% to €7.652 billion in October, while imports rose by 3% to €3.937 billion.
The CSO added that, on an unadjusted basis, the value of exports in October - at €7.524 billion - was unchanged from the same time last year. However, the value of imports - €3.885 billion - was up 7%.
For the first nine months of 2011, exports rose by 4% to €69.425 billion. The CSO says that exports of medical and pharmaceutical equipment rose by 11%, while organic chemicals increased by 10% and petroleum jumped by 51%. Computer equipment exports fell by 9%, however.
Imports for the first nine months of the year rose by 6% to €36.185 billion. Petroleum imports increased by 24%, while medical and pharmaceutical products rose by 23% and organic chemicals by 27%.
Today's CSO figures also reveal that exports to the US rose by 4%, to France by 14% and to Switzerland by 13%. Imports from the UK rose by 17% and from Germany by 14%.
