Seasonally adjusted goods imports decreased by €1.7bn, to €4.6bn, leading to an increase of €1.1bn, in the seasonally adjusted trade surplus to almost €5bn in January.
Imports of organic chemicals decreased by €214 million, while imports of petroleum dropped by €210m, to €183 million over the same period.
There was a 21 per cent increase in the number of road vehicles imported, as an additional €73 million worth brought the total value to €419 million.
The EU represented 62 per cent of the value of goods imports, with a quarter, or €1.2bn, of total imports coming from Great Britain.
The USA with €519 million (11 per cent) and China with €315 million (7 per cent) were the main non-EU sources of imports.