More Coventry & Warwickshire firms look to grow exports

COMPANIES across Coventry and Warwickshire are grasping the exporting nettle with more looking to expand their overseas trade, according to new figures from the area’s chamber of commerce.

In July, the Coventry and Warwickshire chamber processed 433 export documents on behalf of companies in the area – way up on its usual monthly figure.

Gurpaal Virdee, the chamber’s Export Document Officer, said: “We’d normally process between 250 and 300 export documents per month – so to hit 433 for July shows that companies in this area really do appear to be pushing forward with exporting.”

The chamber is now using an online processing system called ‘e-z Cert World’ and 90% of the documents it processed in July were done in this way.

“It’s such a simple and easy way for companies to obtain the necessary documentation and accreditation they require when exporting, added Virdee.

“Many other chambers use this same system and looking at figures from other regions, Coventry and Warwickshire is performing extremely well.”

Overall, the exports carried out with the support of the chamber’s document service amount to around £22.5m of sales for the region, with firms from a broad cross-section of industries taking advantage of the service.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Kazakhstan and the UAE proved to be the most popular destinations for exports utilising the documentation system.

The chamber has consistently told firms in the area that for the economy to sustain recovery, more companies have to export.

“While these figures are excellent news for Coventry and Warwickshire we are, by no means, becoming complacent about the fact that we have to let more businesses know that this service is available to them,” said Virdee.

“Exporting is a crucial ingredient in sustained economic growth and the chamber is determined to increase the number of companies in Coventry and Warwickshire who sell their goods and services abroad.”