Ireland is located in North Europe, on one of the British Isles. As an island nation, ports play a vital role in the Irish economy, particularly in maritime trade flows with England, Scotland and Wales.

The Irish economy is mainly based on services, which make up two thirds of GDP. Banking and finance have grown to the extent that Dublin now is a sizable international financial center. As a consequence, and owing to the importance of real estate in the country, the Irish economy was seriously affected by the international financial crisis of 2009-2010. Ireland’s more recent industrial development has been achieved by the promotion of export market high-tech companies: chemical and electronic products. Agriculture only accounts for less than 2% of GDP, but the Government is trying to consolidate its role in the economy by modernizing it and by expanding the food-processing industries. For more information, consult the Allied Irish Bank’s Irish Economic Outlook 2010 web page.

Ireland is a wide open economy. The main imports are machinery and equipment, oil and petroleum products, textiles and clothing. Main exports are computers, chemical and pharmaceutical products, live animals and animal products. Ireland's trade mainly within the EU and more specifically with the United Kingdom being its 3rd customer and 1st supplier. The United States is Ireland’s first customer (21% of market share) and second supplier (17.5% of market share). The Irish distribution network is dominated by wholesalers who supply a variety of services to associated small retailers, including sales promotion, advertising, and retail training. Because of the financial crisis, consumers’ habits have changed and discounters have expended.

After Sweden, Ireland is the second-most attractive country in terms of FDI per capita in the European Union. A number of overseas companies have chosen to invest in Ireland as their European base and are involved in a wide range of activities and sectors (engineering, information and communication technologies, pharmaceutical and medical technologies). The international crisis has decreased Ireland’s attractiveness but not its potential. IDA Ireland , is the country’s investment promotion agency check out their web pages that outline the advantages of FDI in Ireland and their thorough report about the Irish business environment at "Ireland Vital Statistics".

For even more information, read the Ireland Investment Climate 2010.

Enterprise Ireland is the Irish government’s agency for trade promotion. Its website offers information about Irish industry as well as links to directories of all industry sectors. The agency has 27 overseas offices. The agency also promotes joint ventures and strategic alliances between Irish and foreign companies and assists foreign firms that wish to establish food and drink manufacturing operations in Ireland.

While most international trade operations are experiencing greater stress from issues such as increased trade regulations, shrinking margins, employee turn- over, rising labor costs, and higher raw material prices, some are discovering a new process tool that can help your business run more profitably and more efficiently, perhaps even help you sleep better at night. If you are ready to discover exactly how easy the answer too many of your daily international trade business problems can be, join ProductLine.com http://www.productline.com for a free informative webinar by clicking here.

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To know the U.S. market prices of agricultural commodities, consult the Commodity pages of the United States Department of Agriculture. And take a look also at the International Markets page to find prices elsewhere in the world.

Government websites in other countries offer similar services. For example, Look at the Statistics Bureau and the Director-General for Policy Planning of Japan for monthly prices from Japan and the website of the Italian Institute for Food Services for Agricultural Market. There are also many private websites that offer agricultural commodity prices worldwide. Take a look at Fresh Market, Statpub.com, and Agricommodityprices.

Global Trade Alert provides real-time information on state measures that are likely to affect foreign commerce. GTA is co-ordinated by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, an independent academic and policy research think-tank based in London, UK. The website displays summaries of measures affecting trade that are implemented by national governments. It has alerts and analyses. Browse the database by country affected, implementing jurisdiction, measure type, sector or state of implementation.

• Starlink Shipping & Trading, freight Forwarders in Egypt
• KMB Telemarketing Ltd, telemarketing in the United Kingdom
• Ashton Consulting, Corporate Communications in Japan

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The U.S. Commercial Service, a division of the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, sponsors and participates in many events and webinars that help U.S. exporters sell overseas and help overseas buyers learn about U.S. exports. The Commercial Service has a searchable database of these events worldwide at www.export.gov/eac/trade_events.asp. Below are some upcoming events:

The District Export Councils contribute leadership and international trade expertise to complement the U.S. Commercial Service's export promotion efforts through counseling businesses on the exporting process and conducting trade education and community outreach.

Large U.S. Export Conference to Visit Canada for a Day

The 2010 International District Export Conference features U.S. Sec. Of Commerce, Gray Locke, U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson, U.S. Senators Levin and Stabenow, the Chairman of the Ex-Im Bank and Chairmen, CEOs, COOs and Presidents of FedEX Express, ArvinMeritor, Disney Animation Studios, Dow Corning, Mediterranean Shipping as well as speakers from Google, Walmart, Ford, The Brookings Institution, the CATO Institute, the University of Michigan plus forty other speakers and will be held in Detroit October 24 – 27 at the Detroit Marriott.

The entire conference will move to Caesars Hotel and Casino in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on October 26th. Canadian speakers include Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Government of Ontario, top Canadian business leaders, speakers from academia and Canadian Federal government officials. The visit to Canada features a networking reception at Caesars Windsor with Canadian companies. Find business opportunities in Canada and how to conduct business successfully in Canada. The Canada Border Services Agency will also conduct an exclusive tour of the world’s busiest commercial border crossing at the Ambassador Bridge.

To find more information or to register for the Conference visit www.decconference.com or call 248.975.9600.