Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 13 May 1997

Vol. 479 No. 2

Written Answers. - Value of Exports.

Joe Walsh

Question:

44 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Taoiseach the best recent estimate of total annual export value in relation to our national export trade; the comparative figures for manufactured exports; if he will give a breakdown of the manufactured exports figure in respect of indigenous and foreign-owned enterprise sub-totals; and the best estimates of the individual and combined annual export figures of the ten largest non-national exporting companies. [12437/97]

The Taoiseach

The estimated total value of Irish exports for 1996 is £29,660 million. The most recent month for which information is available on manufactured exports is November 1996. Total exports for January-November 1996, and the corresponding figures for the four main categories of manufactured exports, are as follows:

Jan-Nov 1996

Manufactured exports	£m
Chemical and related products	6,180
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material	1,260
Machinery and transport equipment	9,400
Miscellaneous manufactured articles	4,100
Total Exports	27,200

External trade statistics are not yet classified by nationality of ownership. However, the 1994 census of industrial production indicates that foreign-owned companies account for approximately 80 per cent of manufactured exports.

Exports for the ten largest foreign-owned exporting companies in 1996 are estimated at £7.7 billion. For reasons of statistical confidentiality, the CSO cannot release information on individual companies.