Overseas trade is a big priority for Britain’s SMEs next year, according to new data, despite exports being so low this year.
The latest figures from the government-backed exporters’ forum, Open to Export, show that 78 per cent of small business exporters feel that 2015 will be a better year for trade than 2014.
This year has been particularly bad for exporters who have seen their main trade partners in Europe cut back on orders. This can been seen in data released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which showed that the UK’s trade deficit grew from £8.9bn in the second quarter of 2014 to £11.2bn in the third.
The ONS data also showed that business investment was down, which may imply weakening confidence in the sector.
Earlier this year the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) called on the Government to increase infrastructural investment, simplify the tax system and reform business rates to help the UK’s SME exporters.
Since then the Government has increased its efforts to boost exports by allowing UK Export Finance, to participate in its first ‘direct lending’ transaction with the Dubai World Trade Centre.
It is not yet clear how much this has helped open up new trade to the Middle East and the Government may still struggle hit its target of doubling the UK’s export sector to £1tn by 2020.
AS part of its target it also wants to get 100,000 companies exporting for the first time by 2020, an increase that still seems like a very ambitious target.
