Vol. 518 No. 5
84 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the top 20 countries to which Ireland exports; the number and location of those which have shown the greatest growth in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12203/00]
Ireland's top 20 export markets are the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Malaysia, Denmark, Norway, Australia, Finland, Singapore, the Philippines, Austria and South Africa. If exports to China and Hong Kong were combined, this would make this market our 18th largest export market instead of the Philippines.
Exports to many of our export partners have been growing rapidly. However, the largest increase since 1998 has been to the United States. Exports to the US increased by £1.94 billion or 32% in 1999 over the 1998 level. The only other market with an increase in exports in excess of £1 billion was the United Kingdom.
