Preliminary figures from the Central Statistics Office show that exports of medical and pharmaceutical products jumped by €9.2 billion, or 145.7%, to €15.6 billion in February on the same month last year.
The CSO said this represented 63.2% of total exports in February, which underscores the significance of the pharmaceutical industry to the Irish economy.
Today’s CSO figures also show that exports to the US surged by 210.5% in February compared with the same month last year in anticipation of the imposition of tariffs by the Trump administration.
Exports to the US rose from €4.2 billion to €12.9 billion in February of this year from February 2024.
The CSO said that exports to the US accounted for 52.5% of total export trade in February of this year, up from 26.1% of total exports in the same month last year.
Overall, seasonally adjusted trade exports in goods grew by €700.9m (2.8%) to €25.5 billion in February from January, according to the CSO’s preliminary figures.
It added that unadjusted goods exports amounted to €24.6 billion in February, a jump of €8.7 billion (54.3%) compared with February 2024.
Meanwhile, seasonally adjusted goods imports grew by €1.62 billion (14.8%) to €12.6 billion when compared with January, while unadjusted goods imports rose by €1.5 billion (14.6%) to €11.8 billion in February of this year compared with February 2024.
Today’s CSO figures show that Ireland’s top exporting partners in February were the US, the Netherlands and Germany, with Ireland exporting 52.5% (€12.9 billion), 7.7% (€1.9 billion) and 6.2% (€1.5 billion) of total export goods respectively to these countries.
Ireland imported the highest value of goods from the US, Germany, and Great Britain, with these countries representing 16.6% (€2 billion), 12.8% (€1.5 billion) and 11.6% (€1.4 billion) of the total import trade respectively for February.
The CSO said that exports to Great Britain inched €1.4m (0.1%) higher to €1.195 billion in February of this year compared to the same time last year.
Imports from Great Britain fell by €46.3m (3.3%) to €1.36 billion in February compared with €1.4 billion in February 2024, it added.
EY Ireland chief economist Dr Loretta O’Sullivan said today’s big jump in exports to the US bears all the hallmarks of a pre-emptive strike.
“The pharmaceutical sector was not alone in frontloading in February – the drinks industry also took steps to get ahead of policy shifts by the Trump administration, a smart move now that whiskey and other products have been hit with a 10% tariff,” the economist said.
“Ireland’s significant trade linkages with the US mean businesses here are particularly exposed to transatlantic barriers, prompting them to get inventory into the American market as fast as possible,” she said.
“We’ll be closely watching to see if this trend continues in March,” she added.
Carol Lynch, Head of Customs and International Trade Services at BDO, said the export sector has clearly acted to mitigate the possible imposition of additional sectoral tariffs on imports of pharmaceuticals into the US.
“In light of yesterday’s announcement of a Section 232 investigation into the import of pharmaceutical products to the US, which will likely lead to tariffs of pharmacuetical products, such stockpiling was a prudent course of action,” Ms Lynch said.
“With international trade conditions continuing to evolve and change almost daily, Irish traders must constantly assess their export policies and strategies,” she said.
“Those exporting to the US market who have been impacted by the 10% April tariffs will need to look at ways of minimising the impact by either advanced customs planning or market diversification,” she added.
Article Source – Pharmaceutical exports jump by 146% in February – CSO – RTE