IRELAND’S DOMESTIC demand may still be flagging, but new figures show that the value of Irish exports has remained positive.

Figures released today by the Central Statistics Office show that Ireland’s trade surplus – the amount by which the value of exports exceeds imports – for November 2010 was over €4bn – was €4.09 billion.

That figure – which is up by 37% on the figure for the same month a year ago – was the second month in succession that the surplus had exceeded €4bn.

Removing seasonal adjustments, it is the third month in succession that the excess of exports over imports has breached the €4bn mark.

The CSO figures showed that the total value of exports reached €7,542m, while imports for November 2010 were €3,480m.

The increase in exports was driven by a massive surge in the value of medical and pharmaceutical products, which grew by 15% in since January 2009, while the value of computer equipment exported dropped by 32% – fuelled largely by the closure of Dell’s manufacturing plant in Limerick.

Imports of road vehicles and petrol were up by 74% and 34% respectively in the same period. The volume of imports from the USA fell by 16% in that window, while the volume from Great Britain rose by 4%.