Despite leprechaun tales and other enduring myths, potatoes and green beer are not among Ireland’s highest value exports. Rather, the Irish economy has become a respected world trade player exporting medications, chemicals and sophisticated medical equipment.
Computers, aircraft and electrical components were also among the 20 most valuable Irish export products in 2017.
The following list shows for which products Irish exporters earned the most money. Unlike most information currently available on the web, the items below are detailed at the 4-digit tariff code level.
This level of detail can help entrepreneurs identify more precisely which products in which the Ireland has strong competitive advantages compared with other nations — and therefore opportunities for trade partnerships.
For the most recent four-digit HTS code data, please see the Searchable List of Ireland’s Most Valuable Exports Products section in the Ireland’s Top 10 Exports article. For a link to that article, see the See also paragraph above Research Sources below.
Most Valuable Irish Export Products
Below are the 20 most valuable export products shipped by Irish exporters in 2017. Shown within brackets is the change in value for each item year over year.
- Blood fractions (including antisera): US$19.8 billion (up 84.7% since 2016)
- Medication mixes in dosage: $17.2 billion (down -12.8%)
- Heterocyclics, nucleic acids: $13.3 billion (down -7.7%)
- Scents used for beverage or industrial manufacturing: $7.8 billion (down -2.7%)
- Orthopedic appliances: $5.7 billion (up 7.5%)
- Integrated circuits/microassemblies: $5.2 billion (down -15%)
- Electro-medical equipment (e.g. xrays): $5.2 billion (down -5.8%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $4.5 billion (up 22.8%)
- Sulphonamides: $3.7 billion (down -23.8%)
- Miscellaneous heterocyclics: $3.3 billion (down -27.4%)
- Computers, optical readers: $2.8 billion (down -12.3%)
- Chemical industry products/residuals: $2.3 billion (up 5.7%)
- Flour/meal/starch/malt extract food preparations: $2.3 billion (up 4.9%)
- Fresh or chilled beef: $2 billion (up 8.9%)
- Optical fiber cables, sheets, plates: $1.3 billion (up 3.1%)
- Other diagnostic/lab reagents: $1.2 billion (up 16.8%)
- Butter: $1.1 billion (up 62.1%)
- Hormones, miscellaneous steroids: $1.1 billion (up 0.9%)
- Amino-compounds (oxygen): $1 billion (down -24.7%)
- Alcohol (including spirits, liqueurs): $1 billion (up 15.2%)
Among the most valuable products, Irish blood fractions including antisera posted the greatest increase in the value of export sales up 84.7% from 2016 to 2017.
In second place were exported butter which improved 62.1%.
Irish exports of aircraft and spacecraft showed a respectable gain of 22.8%.
Leading the decliners was miscellaneous heterocyclics (down -27.4%) and oxygen amino-compounds (down -24.7%).
The average change for all Irish export products was a 4.4% increase in value from 2016 to 2017.
See also Ireland’s Top Trading Partners, Ireland’s Top 10 Imports and Ireland’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on February 18, 2018
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports and World Population, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on February 18, 2018
Trade Map, International Trade Centre, www.intracen.org/marketanalysis. Accessed on February 18, 2018