Microchip exports increase 500 per cent in five years

Semiconductors, which account for 60 per cent of our trade with China, have now become Ireland’s fourth largest goods export

According to CSO data from 2015, total exports of microchips from Ireland were €1.2 billion

Microchip exports have grown five-fold in the last five years years, catapulting the tiny semiconductors to Ireland’s fourth-largest goods export, a Business Post analysis has shown.

The vast majority of the country’s microchip exports are now going to China, while nearly 60 per cent of all our exports to China are now microchips.

The growth in exports is likely driven by the production of 14 nanometre Intel chips in Leixlip, which began production in 2015 ...