Cross-border export trade worth £3.4bn to NI in 2016

NORTHERN Ireland exports to the Republic in 2016 were worth 70% more than goods coming the other way, according to a new report.

The cross-border trade figures found that exports that year — excluding the financial and farming sectors — were estimated to be worth £3.4bn while imports were worth around £2bn.

Firms here made 758,000 cross-border export deliveries, while there were 410,000 import deliveries in the other direction.

The findings are contained in a survey on the cross-border supply chain by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

It was commissioned by the Department for the Economy as part of investigations to inform discussions about the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

It found there were almost 1.2 million cross-border deliveries in a year with nearly three-quarters of exports made by small businesses with fewer than 50 staff.

However, the overall figures are likely higher as only VAT-registered businesses were included in the survey, meaning almost 60,000 small traders or those self-employed were excluded.

The Department for the Economy said the survey “paints a rich picture of the web of cross-border connections and trade between Northern Ireland businesses and businesses and consumers in Ireland”.

“This is, however, only a partial picture of the movement of goods across the border, as NI relies heavily on moving and receiving goods through ports in Ireland for its trade with Great Britain.

“Previous estimates have indicated that NI sales of goods to Great Britain are worth nearly four times that of sales of goods to Ireland, of which the current exercise does not take account.

“North-South supply chains cannot be considered in isolation from trade with Great Britain and this remains an area for further research.”

NISRA surveyed local businesses which trade with the Republic and analysed HMRC trade microdata in order to provide more detailed information on the frequency and value of cross-border movements of good.

The Department for Infrastructure and Republic’s Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport this week reported that there are 208 border crossings on the island.