Irish Sea Border: UK exports to Ireland drop since Brexit

Trade in goods between Ireland and Great Britain is now more difficult due to Brexit checks

UK goods exports to Ireland fell by 13% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year.

Official estimates from the Office of National Statistics also show that imports from Ireland were down by 4% in the same period.

However, there were signs of recovery in March with imports and exports increasing.

Trade across the Irish Sea has become more difficult since the end of the Brexit transition period.

• Why are there Brexit checks in Northern Ireland?

• Brexit: Why is Ireland bypassing Britain?

Goods arriving on the island of Ireland from Great Britain face a range of new controls and checks.

Goods going from the Republic of Ireland to GB also require customs declarations with other checks and controls due to be phased in later this year.

Trade is also likely to have been impacted by the pandemic with many retail and hospitality businesses unable to operate at full capacity.

The end of 2020 also saw companies stockpiling products which is likely to have contributed to a decrease in trade in January and February.

The ONS figures show that in the first quarter of 2021 UK goods exports to Ireland were valued at £4.5bn compared to £5.1bn during the same period in 2020.

Goods imports from Ireland were valued at just under £3.1bn in the first quarter of 2021 compared to £3.2bn in the same three month period in 2020.

During March UK exports to and imports from Ireland increased compared to February and were also up on the same month last year.

Difficulties ease

Earlier this week a senior Irish customs official told a parliamentary committee that some of the difficulties in getting British goods through Irish ports had eased.

Gerry Harrihill, director general of customs, said that after suffering "performance degradation" Ireland's new customs IT system had been performing well since mid-March.

However, Hazel Sheridan from the Department of Agriculture said while there have been lots of improvements the processes for importing food from GB remain "incredibly complex".

She said a continuing issue for her staff was errors in the export health certificates (EHC) which must accompany products like meat and dairy products.