Vol. 395 No. 8
64 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the extent to which Ireland has traded with African countries in the past five years; the value of such trade; if he foresees opportunities for expansion in this area in the future; the plans, if any, he has in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to circulate in the Official Report a tabular statement giving details of our trade with the countries of the African continent for the last five years as produced by the Central Statistics Office.
Ireland's total trade with Africa increased by 15 per cent in 1988 and is expected to show a further increase in 1989 when the full figures are available. While our trade with Africa is characterised by an overall healthy balance of trade in Ireland's favour, the surplus has fallen from almost £238 million in 1985 to £128 million for the first 11 months of 1989. In the make up of our trade, almost 70 per cent of all exports are agricultural products.
As a region, Africa is not a priority market for Irish exporters. Difficulties with economic instability and foreign exchange shortages have dogged many African countries and this has depressed trade opportunities.
While Africa will not be a major focus for our trade efforts in the immediate future, nevertheless CTT have a network of trade consultants in Nigeria, Zambia and Kenya with which to service the needs of our exporters.
Total Trade with Africa.
|
£000 |
|
|
1985 |
411,488 |
|
1986 |
287,074 |
|
1987 |
277,863 |
|
1988 |
320,785 |
|
Jan.-Nov. 1989 |
317,330 |
|
Imports |
Exports |
Balance |
|
|
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
|
|
1985 |
86,762 |
324,726 |
+237,964 |
|
1986 |
68,771 |
218,303 |
+149,532 |
|
1987 |
60,321 |
217,542 |
+157,221 |
|
1988 |
70,900 |
249,885 |
+178,985 |
|
1989 |
94,726 |
222,604 |
+127,878 |
|
(Jan.-Nov.) |
|||
|
Grand Total |
381,480 |
1,233,060 |
+851,850 |
|
Imports |
Exports |
Balance |
||
|
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
||
|
Algeria |
2 |
35,571 |
+ |
35,569 |
|
Congo |
844 |
642 |
- |
202 |
|
Egypt |
2,958 |
109,002 |
+ |
106,144 |
|
Ghana |
8,403 |
1,556 |
- |
6,847 |
|
Ivory Coast |
13,640 |
3,381 |
- |
10,259 |
|
Kenya |
11,885 |
1,261 |
- |
10,264 |
|
Libya |
65 |
26,844 |
+ |
26,779 |
|
Morocco |
2,352 |
4,220 |
+ |
1,867 |
|
Nigeria |
16,376 |
105,505 |
+ |
89,129 |
|
South Africa |
20,405 |
29,551 |
+ |
9,145 |
|
Togo |
350 |
469 |
+ |
119 |
|
Tunisia |
9,464 |
3,084 |
- |
6,379 |
|
Zambia |
18 |
3,640 |
+ |
3,621 |
|
Total |
86,762 |
324,726 |
+ |
237,964 |
|
Imports |
Exports |
Balance |
||
|
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
||
|
Algeria |
30 |
15,586 |
+ |
15,555 |
|
Congo |
420 |
758 |
+ |
338 |
|
Egypt |
3,237 |
86,748 |
+ |
83,511 |
|
Ghana |
11,395 |
3,578 |
- |
7,817 |
|
Ivory Coast |
9,270 |
3,086 |
- |
6,184 |
|
Kenya |
9,830 |
2,909 |
- |
6,921 |
|
Libya |
351 |
29,910 |
+ |
29,559 |
|
Morocco |
4,556 |
7,417 |
+ |
2,860 |
|
Nigeria |
9,925 |
33,101 |
+ |
23,176 |
|
South Africa |
16,187 |
30,187 |
+ |
14,000 |
|
Togo |
178 |
642 |
+ |
464 |
|
Tunisia |
3,326 |
813 |
- |
2,512 |
|
Zambia |
66 |
3,568 |
+ |
3,502 |
|
Total |
68,771 |
218,303 |
+ |
149,532 |
|
Imports |
Exports |
Balance |
||
|
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
||
|
Algeria |
51 |
7,559 |
+ |
7,508 |
|
Congo |
272 |
687 |
+ |
404 |
|
Egypt |
332 |
70,645 |
+ |
70,313 |
|
Ghana |
17,948 |
2,040 |
- |
15,908 |
|
Ivory Coast |
9,693 |
4,000 |
- |
5,693 |
|
Kenya |
7,295 |
5,135 |
- |
2,160 |
|
Libya |
6,346 |
31,473 |
+ |
25,127 |
|
Morocco |
3,909 |
6,997 |
+ |
3,088 |
|
Nigeria |
2,395 |
41,120 |
+ |
38,724 |
|
South Africa |
6,262 |
40,844 |
+ |
34,582 |
|
Togo |
Nil |
646 |
+ |
646 |
|
Tunisia |
5,652 |
2,604 |
- |
3,047 |
|
Zambia |
166 |
3,792 |
+ |
3,626 |
|
Total |
60,321 |
217,542 |
+ |
157,221 |
|
Imports |
Exports |
Balance |
||
|
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
||
|
Algeria |
45 |
10,219 |
+ |
10,173 |
|
Congo |
111 |
614 |
+ |
503 |
|
Egypt |
1,791 |
79,903 |
+ |
78,112 |
|
Ghana |
16,093 |
3,164 |
- |
12,929 |
|
Ivory Coast |
7,720 |
4,667 |
- |
3,053 |
|
Kenya |
9,227 |
10,180 |
+ |
953 |
|
Libya |
Nil |
20,389 |
+ |
20,389 |
|
Morocco |
13,700 |
6,832 |
- |
6,867 |
|
Nigeria |
8,103 |
51,378 |
+ |
43,275 |
|
South Africa |
10,672 |
57,491 |
+ |
46,819 |
|
Togo |
Nil |
640 |
+ |
640 |
|
Tunisia |
3,252 |
899 |
- |
2,353 |
|
Zambia |
186 |
3,509 |
+ |
3,423 |
|
Total |
70,900 |
249,885 |
+ |
178,985 |
|
Imports |
Exports |
Balance |
||
|
£000 |
£000 |
£000 |
||
|
Algeria |
22,116 |
20,789 |
- |
1,327 |
|
Congo |
Nil |
449 |
+ |
449 |
|
Egypt |
2,006 |
72,807 |
+ |
70,801 |
|
Ghana |
15,371 |
4,243 |
- |
11,128 |
|
Ivory Coast |
10,506 |
3,926 |
- |
6,580 |
|
Kenya |
6,867 |
6,617 |
- |
250 |
|
Libya |
Nil |
33,500 |
+ |
33,500 |
|
Morocco |
13,922 |
12,390 |
- |
1,532 |
|
Nigeria |
4,810 |
32,283 |
+ |
27,473 |
|
South Africa |
12,084 |
27,758 |
+ |
15,674 |
|
Togo |
413 |
533 |
+ |
120 |
|
Tunisia |
6,115 |
3,631 |
- |
2,484 |
|
Zambia |
516 |
3,678 |
+ |
3,252 |
|
Total |
94,726 |
222,604 |
+ |
127,878 |
