Yorkshire’s exports fall but ‘room for optimism’
TOTAL exports from Yorkshire dropped by almost £400m last year when compared with 2011 but were still worth over £15bn to the region’s economy.
Trade in goods statistics by HM Revenue & Customs have revealed the value of exports from Yorkshire and the Humber fell by £380m in 2012 to £15.74bn.
In last year’s final quarter total exports from the region were worth £3.986bn, down from £4bn in quarter three.
However, according to KPMG the underlying trend is positive as the drop is due to an expected fall in exports to the EU, while good news lies in the 13% year on year growth in the region’s exports to Asia, which totalled £1.91bn in 2012.
Kenny McKay, partner in KPMG’s Leeds restructuring practice, said: “High growth markets are definitively where the prize of prosperity lies so it’s good to see Yorkshire’s sales to Asia and Oceana rise in 2012, albeit they still form too small a part of the region’s export portfolio.
“Indeed this increase is far more important even than the overall drop in export value. This was due to the fall in sales to the EU, which was expected given the economic turmoil in this market during the last year or so.”
Mark Robson, regional director for UK Trade & Investment, urged Yorkshire businesses to continue targeting emerging markets in Asia and Eastern Europe as a means of driving regional export growth.
Exports to Eastern Europe increased from £207m in 2011 to £264m in 2012.
Mr Robson said: “The final quarter and year-end figures for 2012 should provide a degree of comfort in these challenging times when all you ever hear about is the demise of the Eurozone and problems facing many global economies.
“The total value of our regional exports has not surprisingly fallen in that context, but there is promising growth in some regions and we have to use that as catalyst for a general upward trajectory.
“UKTI and others are constantly promoting the virtues of exploring opportunities in South East Asia, and in the likes of Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria within the emerging Europe cluster, and it is encouraging to see a spike in exports to these areas.”
Business advisory firm Deloitte believes there is “plenty of room for optimism” as exporters increasingly turn their sights to dynamic growth markets further afield.
Despite the overall drop, exports to North America and Asia and Oceania grew by £634m, representing Yorkshire’s second and third-largest export markets, worth £4.6bn last year.
Richard Williams, international tax partner at Deloitte in Yorkshire, said: “While the overall figures are disappointing, the troubles in the Eurozone, which remains Yorkshire’s largest export market, account for the drop in trade. If you exclude the EU, exports to the rest of the world have actually increased in value over last year.
“The growth in Asian markets suggests that the region’s exporters are becoming increasingly selective and are focusing their efforts away from the Eurozone and onto high growth markets overseas. We expect to see the growth in Asia and the Far East, matched by Brazil and Latin America over the next year.”
Yorkshire’s top export sectors last year were machinery and transport, mineral fuels and manufactured goods.
