Eurostat figures show that Ireland exported €71bn worth of chemical – including pharma – products in 2022, the third highest in the EU after Germany (€142bn) and Belgium (€81bn).

EU chemical exports outside the EU reached a record high of €553bn, up 21% compared to 2021. The main destinations were the United States (€147bn), the United Kingdom (€55bn), Switzerland (€52bn), China (€38bn) and Japan (€23bn). 

In 2022, EU chemical (including pharmaceutical) extra-EU exports reached a record high of €553bn, fuelled by increasing prices. This was an increase of more than one-fifth (+21%) compared with the value of exports in 2021 (€458bn). 

The value of chemical imports from non-EU countries into the EU was significantly lower, but also hit a record high of €363bn, an increase of almost a third (+33%) compared with 2021 (€272bn). 

In 2022, among the EU members, the top five exporters were Germany (€142bn), Belgium (€81bn), Ireland (€71bn), France (€53bn) and the Netherlands (€49bn). 

Regarding chemical imports, Germany was the largest importer from non-EU countries in 2022 (€72bn), followed by the Netherlands and Belgium (each €53bn), Italy (€30bn), Spain and France (each €28bn).