Trade across the Irish land border is still up sharply after Northern Ireland Protocol

Cross-border trade has continued to soar in both directions after the Northern Ireland Protocol was introduced, new figures show.

According to the Republic of Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), imports from Northern Ireland for January to May 2022 increased by €357 million (£303m) to €1.9 billion (£1.61bn) when compared with the same time period of 2021.

Meanwhile, exports to Northern Ireland from the Republic from January to May 2022 increased by €586m (£497m) to €1.974bn (£1.67bn) when compared with the same time period in 2021.

Imports from Great Britain increased by €831 (£705m) to €2bn (£1.7bn) compared with May 2021 – a rise of 71%.

The main increases were in the imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and chemicals and related products.

Imports from Great Britain were 16% of the value of total imports in May 2022.

The value of goods imports from Great Britain for January to May 2022 increased by €4bn (£3.4bn) to €9.2bn (£7.8bn), compared with January to May 2021.

Exports to Great Britain in May 2022 increased by €319m (£270m) to €1.5bn (£1.27bn), compared with May 2021.

The main change was an increase in the exports of chemicals and related products and machinery and transport equipment.

Exports to Great Britain accounted for 8% of total exports in May 2022.

The value of goods exports to Great Britain for January to May 2022 increased by €1.66bn (£1.42bn) to €6.9bn (£5.86bn), compared with January to May 2021.

The CSO figures were released as part of its Goods Exports and Imports for May 2022.