New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that both exports and imports increased in the first 10 months of 2025.
The CSO said that exports jumped by 22% from €187.3 billion to €228.5 billion while imports rose by 5.6% from €111 billion to €117.3 billion.
It noted that Medical & Pharmaceutical Products represented 55% of the total value of export goods in the months from January to October.
Meanwhile, 45.7% of all goods exported in the first ten months of the year were exported to the US.
Today's CSO figures also show that the value of exports decreased by 21.6% to €16.6 billion in October compared with €21.2 billion the same month last year.
Exports of Medical & Pharmaceutical Products fell by 36.2% to €7 billion in October compared with October 2024's figure of €11 billion. Despite the drop they still represented 42.2% of total exports in October.
Exports to the US fell by 39.3% to €4.3 billion in October from €7 billion in October of last year.
The CSO said the value of imports rose by 4.7% to €12.3 billion in October from €11.7 billion in October of last year.
In October, Ireland's top exporting partners were the US, the Netherlands and Belgium, with Ireland exporting 25.6%, 10.8% and 10.3% of total export respectively to these countries.
Ireland imported the highest value of goods from the US, Great Britain and Germany in October with these countries representing 13.6%, 11.7% and 9.3% of the total import trade respectively to these countries for the month.
Commenting on today's CSO figures, Janette Maxwell, International Indirect Tax Partner at Grant Thornton Ireland, said the country's economy delivered a strong performance in October, with exports outpacing imports by a wide margin.
She said that Ireland's export story continues to be dominated by chemicals and related products, which brought in €9.2 billion.
She said the decline in exports of medical & pharmaceutical products is likely attributable to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the tariff regime for the pharma industry.
"Overall, goods exports totalled €16.6 billion, comfortably ahead of imports at €12.3 billion, reinforcing Ireland's position as a key player in global trade," she said.
"Ireland therefore ended October with a positive trade balance of €4.3 billion. Strong chemical exports and steady demand for machinery imports underline the country's resilience amid global economic uncertainty," he added.
