Trade expert Sofia Carvalhais will be visiting to offer her advice as part of UK Trade & Investment’s (UKTI) ExploreExport roadshow. She will be one of 60 experts visiting the region from across the world to share her expertise in one-to-one meetings with local businesses as part of Export Week.
Organised by UKTI in conjunction with partners and business organisations, Export Week, from 10 to 14 November, aims to encourage companies to take up the export challenge and highlight the wealth of support and knowledge available to help them grow.
Sofia said: “Portugal is a market where personal relationships are of utmost importance. It is easy to conduct business in English as most of the contacts are fluent. You may be invited to develop business during an informal lunch or dinner, where you can enjoy a good meal and nice Portuguese wine.
“Since Portugal is a small market you can easily and quickly travel within the country and find low cost flights from the UK to Portugal. Companies in the East of England should definitely take advantage of the support UKTI advisers can provide to grow their business through exports.”
Thinley Topden, Interim Regional Director for UKTI in the East of England, said: “There is huge appetite for British products and services overseas and there has never been a more opportune time to take advantage of these prospects. Markets like Portugal demonstrate this with a 2.1 per cent increase in trade in the last 12 month to just under £143 million.
“However, the overall value of regional exports has experienced a dip in the last quarter compared to the record highs of 2013, so it is vital that we encourage more businesses to take up the international trade challenge and benefit from the support available to do so.
“This Export Week there will be experts from more than 60 countries in The East of England to help companies explore the possibilities of exporting to their countries. We are bringing the world to the region and we hope that the expertise and advice available, both at ExploreExport and at our other events during the week, will help businesses on the fast track to exporting success.”
About Portugal
Portugal is situated on the Southwest of Europe, in the Iberian Peninsula. Its geographical neighbours are Spain and the Atlantic Ocean (the continental coastline is 1,230 km in length).
Since joining the EU in 1986, Portugal has developed tremendously, striving to catch up with its European partners and develop its international trade.
The UK's alliance with Portugal is older than any other and began with a Treaty in 1373. The "oldest alliance" operates in modern times as well. Over 2 million British tourists visit Portugal every year and around 80,000 British nationals are part-time or permanent residents. There are an estimated 300,000 Portuguese nationals living and working in the UK.
Portugal is the UK’s 15th largest export market in Europe with sales of goods and services of £2.18 billion in 2012, while the UK is in the top five largest investors in Portugal (after France and Spain, and followed by Germany and the Netherlands).
Portugal also has very close relationships with other Portuguese speaking countries. By partnering with Portuguese companies, British companies may be looking at supplying projects not only in Portugal but also in Angola, Brazil and Mozambique.
About Export Week
UKTI is holding its sixth Export Week during the week of 10-14 November. There will be a varied series of events all over the UK, aimed at businesses that are either looking to start their export journey or increase their international business. Previous Export Weeks events have attracted more than 17,000 companies, and this year alone there are more than 70 events to choose from - at least one event per day in every part of the UK. www.exportweek.ukti.gov.uk
ExploreExport takes place on 11 November at Newmarket Racecourse. To find out more, visit www.exploreexport.ukti.gov.uk
To find out more about what is happening elsewhere during Export Week visit www.exportweek.ukti.gov.uk and click on the East of England programme.
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