The value of Irish exports rose by 3 per cent to €9.2 billion in April while imports dropped by 11 per cent to €4.7 billion, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

As a result, the State’s trade surplus for April rose by €819 million or 22 per cent to €4.5 billion.

The latest CSO numbers point to another strong year for exports.

Exports of electrical machinery experienced the biggest monthly jump, rising 152 per cent to €535 million.

There was also a 6 per cent increase in exports of food and live animals, which rose by 6 per cent to €834 million.

Exports of medical and pharmaceutical products, normally one of the main driving forces behind the Republic’s export trade, decreased by 11 per cent to €2.4 billion.

The EU accounted for €4.7 billion or 50 per cent of total exports in April, of which €1.2 billion or nearly 25 per cent went to Belgium.

Antwerp is one of the largest global drug redistribution hubs and receives most of the State's pharma exports which are not destined for the US.

The US was the main non-EU destination accounting for 26 per cent or €2.4 billion of total exports in April.

The unadjusted value of goods imports was €4.6 billion representing a decrease of €1.03 billion (18 per cent) when compared with April last year.

One of the main drivers was a €119 million (52 per cent) fall-off in imports of machinery.

Imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, meanwhile, decreased by €155 million (38 per cent).