Member Article

UKTI calls for North East exporters to be strategic

UK firms are being encouraged to use the quieter summer months to think about how exports can be used to help their business activities in the longer term.

Four out of five exporters say that chance played a role in them choosing the destinations that they export to. They may have been approached by customers from abroad or have come across business partners by word of mouth.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Chief Executive Sir Andrew Cahn said: “Abroad is not just for holidays, and exports are too important to be left to chance. UKTI can help business people to use the quieter summer months to plan strategically how they can turn holiday destinations into business ones.”

Leading export destinations for firms in the North East include favourite holiday destinations, with the USA in the lead as the largest export market, taking £1.8 billion of goods from the North East in 2008.

The top ten destinations for exporters in the North East are: the USA, Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Russia, the Republic of Ireland and China.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .