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Report reveals export woes

THE growth in North East exports is being shackled by problems with foreign trade credit insurance, according to new research.

An estimated £9.2bn worth of UK exports is at risk due to a lack of trade finance, while 1 in 8 exporters surveyed said they had experienced difficulties with sourcing trade finance.

The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) said the figures demonstrate an urgent need for the UK Government to match the governments of some of the world’s major economies which offer state-backed credit insurance.

James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “Export trade credit insurance offers vital protection for firms trading abroad but companies are finding its availability hard to come by.

“Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the USA and the Netherlands all offer state backing for their exporters and its time the UK got behind our products overseas.”

The export credit problem was highlighted in a report by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) titled Exporting Britain: Trade Finance.

The report makes a number of recommendations, including the state-backed insurance scheme along the lines of the models adopted by the German and French government.

In addition, it called for an end to the current blanket approach to assess the risk of shipping products abroad which can see firms expected to pay a disproportionate sum to insure goods going to foreign markets.

The report also put onus on exporters themselves to explore other means of financing their trade deals.

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