Member Article

North East exports £3.1 billion worth of goods in Q2

The total value of exports in the North East has seen the highest rise in England, increasing by 2.32% according to the latest quarterly export figures released by HMRC.

Between April and June 2014, £3.102 billion worth of goods were exported from the region, an increase of £273 million on this period in 2013.

There was a 2.32% per cent increase in the 12-month rolling total, from £11.724 billion up to end of March 2014 to £11.998 billion in the 12-months up to the end of June 2014.

This was the highest increase of all the English regions, while the UK average showed a fall of -2.04 per cent.

The HMRC statistics show that the Netherlands remains the largest single market for North East goods with a 12-month export value of £1.608bn up to the end of June 2014.

David Coppock, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) regional director, said: “Despite a small dip in the quarterly figure, the North East is demonstrating growth in many export markets. It was one of only three English regions to show growth over a rolling 12-month period, and saw the highest increase.

“This is an impressive achievement for the region’s exporters and I hope it will inspire others to take up the exporting for growth challenge.”

Among the many North East businesses that are already exporting for growth is Cravens Ltd, an independent creative advertising agency which opened an office in Dubai three years ago to develop its global client base.

Phil Coverdale, managing director at Cravens Ltd, explained: “Our work in the Middle East has enabled Cravens to access significant new client business. Not only have we delivered work ‘on the ground’ in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman but we are also building contacts and opportunities that generate work back in the UK.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .