Ireland’s trade surplus fell in February as both imports and exports declined.

Preliminary figures showed the trade surplus was €197 million lower compared with January. Seasonally adjusted exports were down by just over €1 billion compared with January, and imports were €856 million lower.

The Central Statistics Office said chemical products accounted for the majority of Ireland’s exports, totalling €4.4 billion, or 60 per cent, of the €7.4 billion worth of goods traded overseas in February.

About half of this trade was carried out with other EU countries, excluding the UK, and 21 per cent was to the US.

Total exports to the EU were €4.6 billion, or 62 per cent, during the month.

The majority of the trade was carried out with Belgium and the UK, which combined represented more than half of the EU share.

Outside the EU, the US was Ireland’s largest export trade partner, with 19 per cent of exports going there over the month.