Member Article

North East exports continue to grow despite national fall

Latest trade and investment statistics have revealed continuing year-on-year growth for North East exports, despite a fall in exports nationally.

The total value of exports in the last year, up to the end of 2014, has risen by 7.24 per cent from the 2013 figure, while the national figure has fallen by 3.89 per cent.

The latest quarterly export figures released by HMRC for September to December 2014 show that £3.289 billion worth of goods were exported from the region, an increase of £250 million, or 8.21 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The value of exports from the North East for the 12-months up to the end of December was £12.416 billion, compared to £12.167 billion in the previous rolling 12-month period up to the end of September 2014. The North East also remains the only English region with a consistent positive balance of trade, exports greater than imports, with the figure at £4.45 billion.

David Coppock, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Regional Director, said: “It’s great to see that North East exports are continuing to grow, with more companies taking up the exporting for growth challenge.

“The news comes as we once again begin the search for the region’s top exporters, with the launch of the North East Exporters’ Awards 2015 which recognise the efforts of companies that are making a huge contribution, through their exporting achievements, to both the regional and UK economies.

“Exporting is good for business and we hope the region’s ongoing success, will not only encourage existing exporters to enter the awards but also inspire others to follow in their footsteps and help us play out part in the 2020 Export Challenge set by the government.”

One of the region’s big export success stories in recent years has been Glanbia Performance Nutrition, of Teesside, which received the Mid and Large Exporter of the Year Award last year.

The company, which provides sports nutrition functional food bars and powders for many of the leading sports brands in the UK, has grown exponentially since 2011 and in 2013, the company embarked on a new export strategy, which has reaped rewards for the business.

Alex Barker, General Manager at Glanbia Performance Nutrition’s manufacturing site in Middlesbrough, said: “We had an excellent reputation in the UK and set ambitious targets for growth across Europe for our contract manufacturing commercial team. The key elements of the strategy were to identify premium brands, and offer the quality, efficiency and innovation that had driven our UK business.

“We decided to focus on the premium market, because the opportunities for us to compete and build on our reputation and USP’s were clear, and customers across Europe could benefit from the same level of support regardless of location.

“Even in an extremely competitive market with significant price sensitivity, UK businesses can thrive if they offer a premium quality product. Our reputation and desire to build relationships with the leading brands has been at the core of our success, and has ensured we have a very strong platform across the entire EMEA region for the future.”

The HMRC statistics show that the Netherlands remains the largest single market for North East goods with a 12-month export value of £1.56bn up to the end of December 2014.