Partner Article

Region’s exports show promising growth

THE North East had the highest export growth in England during second quarter of 2010.

Figures announced by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) show that exports from the North East exports are growing at the fastest rate of any English region and have regained some of the value lost since the economic downturn began.

The figures for the second quarter of 2010 show that the total value of North East exports in that period was £2.969bn, the second highest quarterly value ever.

This is an increase of 16.7% on the first quarter of 2010 (£2.54bn) and up by over a third (35.5%) on the same period in 2009.

The annual rolling total value of goods exported from the region grew by 6% to reach £10.64bn, comparing well with the overall growth rate for England of 4%.

Much of the growth in export value in recent months can be attributed to a recovery in Machinery and Transport values to the levels seen prior to the global downturn.

Commenting on the findings, David Coppock, UKTI international trade director said: “These latest figures give us grounds for being cautiously optimistic, as the annual trend looks to be solidly upwards at present.

“The North East has a strong export tradition, and while it’s still a little too early to tell whether this improved picture is a significant long-term pattern, businesses should continue to put themselves in the best possible position for growth by looking for overseas opportunities.”

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