From left: Leo Clancy, Mary Harney, Neale Richmond, TD and Mary Buckley at the EI summit. Image: © Maxwell Photography
Overall exports grew by 19pc last year, with significant growth in both Eurozone and UK exports.
Exports by Enterprise Ireland client companies reached €32.1bn last year, marking a record year in both growth and overall value.
Enterprise Ireland said growth occurred across all overseas regions and in individual industry sectors. Overall exports increased by 19pc in 2022, the highest-ever level of growth for companies backed by the State agency.
Exports to the Eurozone increased by 28pc last year to €7.9bn, with this region representing 25pc of all exports by Enterprise Ireland client companies.
The agency said this trade expansion has grown in tandem with strong exports to the UK post Brexit. Exports to the UK grew by 13pc last year reaching €9.2bn in value, with the UK accounting for 29pc of all exports.
Meanwhile, exports to North America reached €5.5bn in 2022, an increase of 13pc and accounting for 17pc of all reported exports.
Food exports accounted for 50pc of the total figure in 2022, with dairy, beverage and food FDI exports seeing the largest growth last year.
The results were announced at the Enterprise Ireland summit which is taking place today (19 April) at the RDS in Dublin. Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney, TD, said the results are a “testament to the resilience and vision in the Irish enterprise sector”.
“Irish business faced another challenging year in 2022, with energy costs, inflation and supply chain disruption impacting the trading environment,” Coveney said. “However, with a record €32bn in export sales, Irish business has demonstrated its ability to absorb global economic disruption and continue to compete and win in international markets.”
Enterprise Ireland CEO Leo Clancy said the results demonstrate the “continued strength” of Irish products and services in international markets and attributed this to “Ireland’s hard-won reputation for quality, service and innovation”.
“In recent years Enterprise Ireland initiatives have focused on assisting companies to diversify their export markets, with a particular focus on growth in the Eurozone,” Clancy said. “Looking ahead we are very conscious of the current and emerging uncertainties for business in global markets.
“We are working with clients to help them anticipate and transform their business models to address areas such as sustainability, financing and skills.”
At its Start-Up Showcase 2023 event yesterday (18 April), Enterprise Ireland revealed it invested €27m into 161 Irish start-ups last year.
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