Non EU exports now account for 43.8 per cent of the region’s trade compared to 36.5 per cent in 2011. Most significantly exports to the recovering US market have grown 28 per cent year on year.
The total value of exports from the region during the final three months of 2012 (October-December) was £6.7 billion.
This represented a 1.6 per cent increase on the previous quarter and gave an annual total of £26.7 billion.
The USA has reclaimed from Germany the East of England’s No1 spot as the leading export destination worth £3.4bn in 2012. Exports to USA last lead in 2008/9
Liz Basing Regional Director for UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) for our region said that East of England growth in non EU exports was hugely encouraging, and she urged the region’s firms to renew their efforts and follow in the footsteps of successful exporters.
One such is Essex based DC Electronics ,whose Managing Director David Cunliffe commented: “ Having received UKTI support to explore opportunities in the US: ‘The success in the United States has exceeded all our expectations. We may have achieved a lot in this last few years, but we’ve certainly not stopped our growth plan. We have a great deal more we hope to achieve and are looking into some significant other areas overseas – all of which we intend to keep pursuing with the help of the UKTI relationship. There’s no doubt in my mind that we wouldn’t be where we are if we hadn’t been working with UKTI on this journey.”
Exports to the USA and Hong Kong are the region’s fastest growing markets amongst the top 10 export destinations with increases of 28% and 57% respectively year on year.
There was also strong growth in exports to some of the BRICS countries Brazil, India and South Africa, with increases of 19%, 13% and 21% year on year respectively.
Commenting on the figures, Liz Basing, East of England’s Regional Director for UKTI said: “East of England companies are doing brilliantly in markets outside Europe. That is where the best long term growth prospects are but that does not mean Europe isn’t important. The EU still accounts for more than half the exports and the US is once more the single most important overseas market for businesses in the East of England. My team at UKTI East is looking forward to helping even more regional companies do more business across the full range of markets from Brazil, Boston or Benelux.
“As part of our efforts to do this, we will be hosting a special Export Week – High Growth Markets event (13-17 May 2013 ) with a packed programme of events to help companies across the region explore the opportunities in key markets around the world. “
For information about Export Week – High Growth Markets log onto the website at: www.exportweek.ukti.gov.uk
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