Profile of Trading Enterprises 2022

Key Findings

• There were 11,769 enterprises which exported goods in 2022, and 49,517 enterprises that imported goods.

• Foreign-owned enterprises accounted for 87% of total exports and 73% of total imports.

• The five largest exporting enterprises exported 44% of the value of exports in 2022, while the 10 largest enterprises exported 57%.

• Large enterprises, with over 250 employees, were responsible for 80% of the total value of exports.

• There were 48,737 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which imported goods in 2022, and the value of their imports was €72 billion.

• Almost one-third of importing enterprises sourced their goods from only one country.

• There were over 8,000 enterprises who exported to the UK and more than 36,000 enterprises who imported goods from the UK in 2022.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (09 August 2024) released Profile of Trading Enterprises 2022.

Commenting on the release, Ciarán Counihan, Statistician in the International Trade in Goods Division, said: "This data analyses goods exports and imports from the point of view of the type of enterprises engaged in trade in goods. This differs from the traditional focus of trade statistics, which is on the products being traded. In other words, this publication deals with who is trading rather than what is being traded.

In 2022 there were close to 12,000 enterprises in Ireland exporting goods and almost 50,000 importers.

Foreign owned enterprises accounted for 87% of total exports and 73% of imports by value. However, in terms of the number of enterprises, just 18% of exporters and 8% of importers were foreign owned.

Ireland exported more than €199 billion worth of goods in 2022, and €173 billion of that was exported by foreign-owned enterprises. There were 11,769 enterprises that exported goods over the value of €1,000 in 2022. Of these, 9,670 enterprises were Irish-owned, and 2,099 were foreign-owned.

Large enterprises, those with more than 250 employees, were responsible for 80% of the value of goods exports.

Almost one-third of importing enterprises sourced their goods from only one country, and three-quarters had five or less partner countries.

The UK is Ireland's most significant trading partner in terms of the number of enterprises that export and import. Three-quarters of all enterprises that imported goods in 2022 traded with the UK, while more than two-thirds of all exporters sent goods to the UK.

There were 1,054 exporting enterprises that had ten or more partner countries and they exported more than €175 billion of goods in 2022."