Minister Bruton welcomes 6% increase in exports

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton has welcomed the latest Goods Exports figures published by the CSO which showed that seasonally adjusted exports increased in January 2014 by €426 million or 6% when compared with January 2013.

This follows on from an 18% rise in the seasonally adjusted value of exports in December 2013 compared to 12 months previously.

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The figures released today also showed that:

• Exports of Chemical Products increased by 5.6% in January 2014 compared to January 2013, this included Organic Chemicals which increased by 15%.

• Exports of Food and live animals increased by 9% in January 2014 compared to January 2013.

Minister Bruton who is currently on a 5-day trade investment and tourism mission to Italy said:

Following a number of challenging months in export markets, these improving figures indicate a strong export performance from the Irish economy. It is an impressive performance by our exporters in what are difficult trading circumstances globally and reflect our improving competitiveness. This performance follows the recent release of data for Irish services exports in 2013 which reached their highest ever level with a 5% increase over 2012.

While challenges remain, I believe that generating sustainable broad based export-led growth is essential to rebuilding our economy. As a small open economy, growth in overseas markets is critical and the Governments Action Plan for Jobs places a specific emphasis on growing opportunities in overseas markets to further grow our exports and create the jobs we need.