Ireland should address a fall in business with our European Union partners, according to the Irish Exporters' Association (IEA).
In its half-yearly review issued on Tuesday, the IEA welcomed the 7 per cent increase in exports in the first half of the year to €74.4 billion.
However, it noted that the main growth came from outside the Eurozone, where merchandise exports grew by 23 per cent and services exports increased 10 per cent.
CEO John Whelan said: “The persistent focus by Irish exporters on the large emerging China market is showing signs of paying off, with exports to mainland China increasing by 13% and to Hong Kong by 48%. This is also a strong endorsement of the public-private sector promotion of trading with Asia, with Government and exporters joining together in the Asia Pacific strategy to tackle this huge and complex market.”
Regarding the losing of market share in mainland Europe, he stated “There are clear signs that Irish exporters are losing out to the new EU member states exporters in the major European markets of Germany, France and Italy.
The rapid rise in exports from the 10 new EU member states to the older, larger economies in Europe must be taken seriously as a competitive threat to our long term customer base in Europe”, he stated.
He concluded by saying “A focused public-private partnership (along the lines of the Asia Pacific strategy) will be required to rebalance the competitive position of Irish exporters in mainland European markets and must be a priority of the new Government”.
Whelan welcomed the 9 per cent increase in trade between the Republic and Northern Ireland and the 7 per cent gain in exports to the UK as a whole, describing it as the bright spot on the horizon. Trade in this area had been stagnant for seven years.
Finfacts Comment: It's depressing that a private body like the Irish Exporters' Association would fall for the Government's spin on its "Asia-Pacific strategy."
Foreign-owned companies in Ireland have been responsible for most of the increase in trade with China and decisions regarding the destination of their exports are generally not made in Ireland. It simply has little to do with the "Asia Pacific" strategy.
State agency Enterprise Ireland, which is responsible for assisting Irish firms in Asia-Pacific, would not even claim that they are responsible for more than a tenth of exports from Ireland to the region.
Why is the export performance with India so dismal if the "Asia Pacific strategy" is such a success?
Irish Trade Statistics: Policymakers opt for Spin and Delusion rather than confront challenging facts
