The converse of the stats showing that the UK had an export boom resulting from the weakness of sterling, shows that the sterling crash wiped €0.5 billion off exports to Britain from Ireland!
According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) exports to the UK fell by €496 million, or 4 per cent, to €13.3 billion overall in 2016.
The figures represent the first real indicators of how Brexit is affecting Ireland’s trade with Britain. Many Irish food and drink bodies are now calling for urgent new policy measures to be introduced to meet the uncertain economic waters ahead.
The forecasts only look bleaker the further one looks ahead, with customs scenarios and brexit-related trade issues being the main headaches envisaged in the years to come.
