Exporters from Ireland selling into the key UK market may be weathering the disruption caused by the new Brexit border on the Irish Sea, even as imports from Britain are down sharply, new CSO figures suggest.

At €3bn, goods exports to Britain for the first three months of the year were down by only 3% from the same period in 2020, despite the disruptions to trade and truck movements at Irish Sea ports.

Exports of food and live animals to Britain accounted for part of the decline – sales across the Irish Sea fell to €648m from €871m in the same period in 2020.

Food and live animal export sales were also down to EU countries, to €855m from €914m a year earlier.

However, the CSO figures show a sharp fall, by €2bn, across a wide range of imports from Britain, down by €2bn to €2.2bn in the first quarter.

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