New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that seasonally adjusted exports fell by 2% to €8.5bn in March, while imports sank by 12% to €4.4bn.
Today's figures also show that exports of medical and pharmaceutical products decreased by 11%, but exports of electrical machinery and appliances jumped by 125%.
The EU accounted for almost half of total goods exports in March of which €1bn went to Belgium and €1.13bn to the UK.
Up to 62% of the value of Ireland's goods imports came from the EU in the same period, with €1.28bn, or 25%, of total imports coming from the UK.
The USA was the main non-EU destination for imports and exports, with €2.31bn (25%) of Ireland's exports going there in March 2016 and €700m (14%) of Ireland's imports coming from the States.