Broad Economy Sales and Exports Statistics (BESES)

The latest experimental Northern Ireland Broad Economy Sales and Exports Statistics (BESES) were published at 9.30am this morning. The key results were:

• Total sales by companies in Northern Ireland (NI) were estimated to be worth £66.6 billion in 2017, a decrease of 1.7% (£1.1 billion) over the calendar year.
• Sales within NI increased by £1.3 billion to £45.2 billion, up 2.9% over the year and are at the highest level since the survey commenced in 2011.
• Sales to Great Britain (GB) decreased by £2.9 billion to £11.3 billion, down 20.2% over the year. 
• Sales to markets outside the UK (exports) increased by £467 million (4.8%) over the year, to £10.1 billion.
• Sales to all markets outside NI (external sales) i.e. GB sales plus exports, fell by £2.4 billion (10.1%) to £21.4 billion, and accounted for almost a third of total sales in 2017 (32.1%).
• The falls in External sales and sales to GB over the calendar year are the first since the survey began in 2011. These were driven by a substantial decline in the Food, Beverages and Tobacco sub sector.
• Exports to the Republic of Ireland (IE) increased by £540 million (16.2%) over the year, to £3.9 billion.
• Exports to the Rest of the EU (REU, excluding IE) fell over the year by £269 million (12.1%) to £2.0 billion.  Exports to the Rest of the World (RoW) increased by £195 million (4.8%) over the year, to £4.3 billion.
• Full publication

Share this page