Today’s figures from the HMRC reveal that the total value of South West exports increased in the first quarter of 2013, compared with the same period last year.
Total exports from the South West increased by 5% in the first quarter, to reach £3,392m. Machinery remained the region’s top export, accounting for 63% of the total value of exports.
The EU was the South West’s major export market by a significant margin. 60% of the region’s exports went to the European Union in the first quarter of the year, with Asia and Oceania a distant second at 14%.
The number of businesses in the South West exporting goods also increased year on year by 3%.
Phil Cotton, South Region Chairman at KPMG, said: “These results should boost business confidence in the South West and I hope will encourage more businesses to consider selling abroad this year.
“The last two years have proved trying for exporters in the South West as troubles in the EU, our primary export market, dampened demand for our products. However, this year has started strongly with order books filling up steadily with sales from overseas.
“However we remain vulnerable to sudden shocks in the EU, so the stability of their economies might be the deciding factor in our overall export performance this year. If businesses are to fire the starting gun on growth they must look beyond the EU and target untapped markets in the BRIC countries and beyond.”
