Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 June 2021
243. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Transport the increase or decrease by volume and value of goods imported from Britain through Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort to date in 2021 compared to 2019 and 2020, in tabular form; the reason for this change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30385/21]
View answer244. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Transport the increase or decrease by volume and value of goods exported to Britain through Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort to date in 2021 compared to 2019 and 2020, in tabular form; the reason for this change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30386/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 243 and 244 together.
Tonnage
The CSO has not yet published it's report showing the Tonnage of goods handled by Irish ports for Quarter 1 2021. However, the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) has published its statistical report on unitised traffic for Quarter 1 2021.
Section 2.2 of the report provides a commentary on the figures for Roll On Roll Off (RoRo) traffic between Ireland and Great Britain for Quarter 1 2020 and Quarter 1 2021.
Table 3 in the report sets out the RoRo traffic figures for traffic between Dublin Port and Great Britain and Rosslare Europort and Great Britain.
A copy of the table is attached below for ease of reference and shows the year on year growth and declines between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021.
Table 3: RoRo Traffic to Great Britain, Annual Growth
The fall in ROI – GB traffic in Q1 was driven by three main factors; a decline in the use of the UK Landbridge, a decline in the use of ROI – GB routes by NI businesses, and a large stockpile of merchandise goods built up by importers and exporters in late 2020. The move away from the Landbridge was driven by concerns of delays and disruption as a result of new customs controls on traffic between the UK and the EU.
The full report providing further detail may be accessed at the following link: https://www.imdo.ie/Home/sites/default/files/IMDOFiles/IMDO%20Q1%202021%20Unitised%20Traffic%20Report%20April%202021.%20pdf1.pdf
The IMDO’s statistical report for Quarter 1 2020 shows the year on year difference in growth and declines in RoRo traffic between the same periods in 2019 and 2020. For ease of reference the relevant table is copied below:
|
- |
Q1 2019 |
Q1 2020 |
Year on Year Change |
|
|
|
RoRo Units |
RoRo Units |
% |
RoRo Units |
|
Cork |
1,071 |
729 |
-32% |
-342 |
|
Dublin |
270,099 |
255,708 |
-5% |
-14,391 |
|
Rosslare |
27,853 |
25,920 |
-7% |
-1,933 |
|
Total Ireland |
299,023 |
282,357 |
-6% |
-16,666 |
|
Belfast |
133,066 |
133,261 |
0% |
195 |
|
Larne |
49,349 |
49,259 |
0% |
-90 |
|
Warrenpoint |
27,130 |
22,949 |
-15% |
-4,181 |
|
Total N. Ireland |
209,545 |
205,469 |
-2% |
-4,076 |
|
Total All Island |
508,568 |
487,826 |
-4% |
-20,742 |
There were three main factors contributing to the declines seen above.
Firstly, Q1 2019 experienced significant growth in both Ro and LoLo sectors. RoRo traffic expanded by 9% while the LoLo traffic grew by 7%, both outpacing its quarterly average of 5% between Q1 2015 – Q4 2018. Driving the growth in Q1 2019 was a period of inventory stockpiling that took place in as the UK’s proposed date of departure from the EU approached on March 29th.
Secondly, a period of inclement weather in February 2020 led to some cancelled sailings, reducing freight carryings during that time.
Lastly, restraints on economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact upon the RoRo and LoLo market in the latter half of March 2020. Business closures across retail, construction and hospitality sectors will began to impact both markets from this period onwards. The onset of COVID-19 in March stalled the recovery from lost sailings due to inclement weather in February. The full report can be viewed at the following link:
https://www.marine.ie/Home/sites/default/files/MIFiles/Docs_Comms/Q1%202020%20Full%20Report.pdf
Value
The Central Statistics Office provides a monthly report on the value of exports and imports of goods to and from Ireland and the United Kingdom. These Statistics may be accessed at the following links: Details relating to individual ports are not available:
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/gei/goodsexportsandimportsjanuary2021/
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/gei/goodsexportsandimportsfebruary2021/
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/gei/goodsexportsandimportsmarch2021/
For ease of reference these figures are provided below.
|
Details of the combined value of exports and imports to and from Ireland and the United Kingdom for Quarter 1 2020 and Quarter 1 2021 are set out in the table below. |
|||
|
|
Quarter 1 2020 |
Quarter 1 2021 |
Growth |
|
Goods Imports |
€4,725m |
€2,952m |
-38% |
|
Goods Exported |
€3,673m |
€3,715m |
1% |
The CSO said a combination of factors contributed to the large reduction in imports from Britain early in 2021, including the challenges of complying with customs requirements.
Other factors included the stockpiling of goods in the final quarter of 2020 in preparation for Brexit, the substitution with goods from other countries, and a reduction in trade volumes due to the impact of Covid-19 with exports from here to Britain also hit.
In comparing Quarter 1 2020 with Quarter 1 2019, the CSO reported in March 2020 that:
The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first three months of 2020 was €3,206 million, a decrease of €104 million (-3%) on the first three months of 2019.
The value of goods imports from Great Britain for January to March 2020 was €4,572 million, a decrease of €360 million (-7%) compared with the first quarter of 2019.
In March 2019, with indications of stockpiling taking place as the UK’s proposed date of departure from the EU approached on March 29th, the CSO reported that:.
The value of goods exports to Great Britain in the first three months of 2019 was €3,657 million, an increase of €301 million (+9%) on the first quarter of 2018.
The value of goods imports from Great Britain for the period January to March 2019 was €5,099 million, an increase of €696 million (+16%) on the first three months of 2018.
Some data may differ between publications as figures that included estimates are revised on receipt of the actual data from companies after publication.
