New findings from the National Survey of Registered Business’ Export Behaviours (NSRB) suggest that the UK has a significant untapped exporting potential.
A new report by the NSRB found that more than a tenth (13 per cent) of UK businesses that have not previously exported, as of the end of 2019, believed they have goods which could be exported or developed for export.
The same stud also showed that:
- 66 per cent of exporters are passive, meaning they are waiting for overseas orders rather than directly targeting markets
- 28 per cent are considered active exporters and that this group were more likely to report growth in their international trade year on year.
The research conducted just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were reported in the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) quarterly ‘Trade and investment core statistics book’ and suggest the UK could export much more in future.
The same report showed that the UK exported £689 billion worth of goods and services globally in 2019, an increase of five per cent on the previous year.
The UK’s top export markets for 2019 were:
- The USA
- Germany
- China
- France
- The Netherlands.
However, China and South Korea were the fastest-growing export markets for the UK between 2010 and 2018, growing 123 per cent and 206 per cent respectively.
It is not really clear yet what impact the pandemic will have on UK trade going forward, but at the moment a large proportion of global trade has slowed down or stopped as a result of the crisis.
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