 |
| Wyeth BioPharma Campus Dublin - - one of the world's largest biopharmaceutical capital investments
|
According to the Irish Exporters Association’s Half-Year Review 2009 merchandise exports for the first half of 2009 show a return to growth of just under 2%, which the IEA calls a remarkable performance given the current economic climate. It is forecasting, based on half year figures that for the full year merchandise exports will increase by two percent over 2008 figures with service exports falling by one percent. Taken together this would see total Irish exports rising by one percent to €155 billion for 2009. The association says exports have been boosted by the US-owned life sciences sector which account for 56% of total merchandise exports.
The IEA said in the half year, merchandise exports grew by 1.5% over the same period last year. It said this has been driven by 6% growth in exports of manufactured goods in the 2nd quarter, bouncing back from a decline of 3.4% in the first quarter. The export growth has come from companies in the pharmaceutical sector such as Wyeth, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Allergan, Genzyme etc. Also the chemical active ingredient bulk manufacturers such as Pfizer and Merck Sharp added to the growth, as did the medical devices companies such as Boston Scientific and Stryker.
Taken as a group these types of company’s form the Irish Life Sciences sector which in the first half of the year increased export sales by 11%.
According to John Whelan, Chief Executive of the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) these figures, despite being encouraging in the present economic climate, mask a major problem which is affecting Ireland’s traditional export sector. “The bulk of growth in merchandise exports for the first half of the year has come from companies, multinational in the main, in the life-sciences sector which includes pharmaceuticals, chemicals and medical devices,” said Whelan. He noted that the life-sciences sector now accounts for some 56% of total Irish exports and is a sector which is largely shielded from global economic downturns.
Whelan said that of the 25,000 jobs lost in the manufacturing sector since June 2008, the majority have been in exporting companies and the forecast for next year is for further contraction. “It has been forecast that a further 35,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector could be lost before the end of 2010 with the bulk of the jobs being lost in traditional sectors,” said Whelan. “The IEA has since January 2009 been warning about the serious damage being done to employment to the indigenous traditional export sector during this recession.”
The IEA said that there are measures the Government needs to take to avoid permanent damage to the indigenous traditional export sector. They include:
