Vol. 495 No. 7
83 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the sharp fall in non-EU exports in August 1998 and a subsequent rise in imports; her views on this trend; the action, if any, she will take to reverse this trend; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21131/98]
While August 1998 exports to non-EU regions are down 2 per cent compared to August 1997, a one month movement is not a trend. Monthly export values can oscillate very sharply, and those to non-EU destinations have done so in recent months. For example, record monthly export values to the non-EU area have already been recorded this year in March and June. The more relevant statistic is the year to date trend where, for the period January to August, non-EU exports have risen to 31 per cent relative to the same period last year.
Imports from the non-EU area were up by 23 per cent this August as compared to August last year. The main contributor to this increase was a 32 per cent increase in imports of machinery and transport equipment.
To put these figures in context, the record surpluses on our trade for the year to June (the latest available from the Central Statistics Office) show a trade surplus of £6.38 billion which is a remarkable 50 per cent of the same period last year. This is a tremendous performance overall.
