Confusion over Brexit ‘fuelling fear’ among exporters with a declining trend in recent weeks
THE Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce has released its latest export figures, which reveal that the overall value of goods exported from across the region exceeded £30m during the last quarter of 2018.
Leading the way with just under half of the total amount was Huddersfield, whose overall goods exported equated to a value of £13,044,183, closely followed by Wakefield with £9,779,552 and Halifax with £7,360,211.
In a similar vein, January saw £6.8m worth of products exported across the Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield districts – a surprising 55% increase, compared to the £4.4m in December.
However, while the January figures were significantly higher than those documented for December - a noticeably quiet exporting month for most, they were in fact 35% lower than those reported in November (£10,460,212), and 52% lower than October (£14,365,958), suggesting a declining trend overall.
Leah Quarmby, export hub supervisor said: “Despite the impressive overall figures, the 52% decrease throughout the period, suggests that the current political noise surrounding the future of exporting is fuelling fear amongst businesses who are striving to continue trading despite the impending Brexit deadline.” Interestingly, the top five countries that the region’s companies predominantly export to include Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, China and India, none of which are members of the European Union, with machinery, textiles and chemicals being the main products exported.
Leah added: “These figures impose concern that businesses are becoming more and more fearful of the effect Brexit will have on their export businesses, despite limited trading with EU countries.”
My Export Hub, the international trade support arm of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, has been supporting businesses with international documentation for export over 10 years, existing as the most competitively priced documentation service in the North.
It operates a flexible appointment system to ensure that businesses receive a quick and efficient service, saving them time and money. Managing director Martin Hathaway said: “It’s extremely reassuring to see that despite economic uncertainty, businesses are continuing to utilise the services our Export Hub provides, however, there are clearly some concerns, which I feel the figures reflect.”
“Here at the Chamber, we are making a conscious effort to support our members and the wider business community in the run up to the Brexit deadline by offering valuable toolkits, sharing advice from the British
Chamber of Commerce and holding a number of Brexit advice events. We strongly urge all those who are concerned to access the information that is available.”
For more see www.mycci.co.uk
These figures impose concern that businesses are becoming more and
more fearful