Major export boost for North East companies

Mar 12 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

EXPORTS by North East companies have increased after more than a year of decline giving a major boost to the region’s manufacturers.

The latest figures show that during the final quarter of 2009 there were £2.76billion worth of goods exported from the North East - the fifth highest quarterly value ever recorded in the region.

The total value of goods exported from the North East for the whole of 2009 was £9.63 billion, a 15% fall on the previous year's total of £11.3 billion, but still the second highest annual value recorded in the region.

The latest quarterly figures compiled by HM Revenue and Customs also revealed a growth of 16.6% compared to the previous quarter (July to September 2009) and was 7.9% higher than the final quarter of 2008.

David Coppock, UK Trade & Investment's international trade director said: "In light of the economic situation we fully expected the 2009 total to be lower than the previous year, but it's a positive sign to see that the figures increased during the final quarter of the year.

"Our challenge now is to aim to keep up the momentum and support companies as they seek new overseas opportunities to help further boost the region's economy. Companies should still be looking to be taking advantage of a lower pound against the euro in sales activity and we're here to help."

The Journal’s Go Global campaign, launched last year in association with the North East Chamber of Commerce, aims to highlight the region’s exporting successes and encourage firms to sell overseas. We are currently the only UK region with a positive trade balance with the rest of the world.

An NECC spokesman said: “For the first time in well over a year, the regional export figures have shown an increase compared with the same period in the previous year.

“This is obviously welcome as the region now has a quarterly export value close to its 2007 peak. It will take some time to recover the highs of 2008 and it is important that the exporters are provided with the necessary support to capitalise on favourable market conditions.”

Dr Simon Goon, One North East head of business investment, said: "These encouraging figures reflect the overall recovery of the North East economy in the final months of 2009 and show the huge importance of our export markets to our economic welfare.

"Increasing export confidence and strength will help underpin our economic growth during 2010."

Earlier this week new figures showed that UK exports in January fell by £1.4 billion, or 6.9%, to £19.5 billion, compared with December in the largest month-on-month fall since July 2006. But policy makers and businesses still believe that the depressed value of Sterling will help UK manufacturers in the long run.