Companies that trade cross-border are nearly twice as likely to experience moderate to rapid expansion as those that don't trade between jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, data from InterTradeIreland's Q2 business monitor shows.

Some 41% of exporters are enjoying moderate to rapid expansion compared to 21% of non-exporting companies, with three-quarters of cross-border traders describing themselves as profitable (78%) compared to 61% that do not sell outside their jurisdiction.

"Despite the challenges SMEs face, on the whole, cross-border trade remains remarkably robust with a higher percentage of companies who export cross border reporting profitability, growth and increased sales compared to their non-cross-border trading counterparts,” said Martin Robinson, director of strategy at InterTradeIreland.

“InterTradeIreland helps businesses identify cross-border opportunities and to explore their export potential through programmes such as Elevate and Acumen and have seen first-hand how a focus on reaching new markets can help enhance productivity and sales.

"Recent data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that cross-border trade in goods reached €7.65bn in 2021 and continues to increase. In January-May 2022, Irish import trade with Northern Ireland has risen by another €356m (23%) and Irish exports to Northern Ireland have risen by €586m (42%), compared to the same period in 2021.”

In Association with

Business performance continues to hold steady despite the impact of inflation, with 83% of companies across the island of Ireland in stable or growth mode, down slightly from Q1 (85%).

Companies in the leisure, hotel and catering sector experienced a more challenging quarter than most, with 42% seeing a drop in sales in Q2, compared to 23% in the previous quarter.

Rising costs dominate the list of challenges faced by business as energy prices (86%) and overheads (83%) were the two most commonly cited issues by respondents, as they have been over the past six months.

The impact of Brexit (43%) and Covid-19 (39%) has declined as companies continue to adapt, but almost half of businesses (46%) now cite a difficulty in recruitment of appropriate skills as a key issue. 

"As skills challenges become a significant issue, we are starting to see companies look at different ways to tackle shortages. 35% for example have increased advertising while 29% are retraining in-house," said Robinson.

"Innovation through exploiting digital technology is another area that could help firms create efficiencies. Our recently launched Business Solutions voucher provides support to businesses to explore the most effective ways of overcoming these ever-rising challenges.”

Photo: Martin Robinson.