Ireland's exports to non-EU countries grew by 12 per cent to €34.5 billion in 2001, while imports fell by 6 per cent to €20.3 billion, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports rose marginally to €1.56 billion in December from the November value of €1.5 billion and imports fell slightly to €2.66 billion from €2.68 million.

The unadjusted exports to non-EU countries were valued at €2.3 billion in December 2001, 18 per cent lower than the November value of €2.8 billion. Imports were valued at €1.5 billion in December 2001, 11 per cent lower than the €1.64 billion recorded in November 2001.

Apart from a seasonal drop, the fall in exports has been significantly influenced by changes relating to the international distribution of merchandise by specific companies, the CSO said, adding that this causes a shift in trade from non-EU to EU countries.

Exports to the US rose by 10 per cent over the year to €15.7 billion, while exports to Switzerland grew by 38 per cent to €2.8 billion. Exports to South Korea dropped to €696 million from €1.05 billion, a fall of 34 per cent. Imports from China grew from €711 million to €879 million, a rise of 24 per cent. Imports from Canada also rose by 24 per cent to €633 million, while imports from Singapore fell by 33 per cent to €1.32 billion.

Organic materials saw a 19 per cent rise in exports from €8.7 billion to €10.4 billion, while exports of office machines and automatic data processing machines rose from €5.75 billion to €6.2 billion. There was a decline of 72 per cent in exports of meat and meat preparations from €337 million to €95 million.