The Yorkshire firm taking sushi rice to Iceland

A YORKSHIRE firm which has started exporting sushi rice to Iceland says other regional companies should take up the international trade challenge.

Eurostar Commodities, a family-owned food business founded in 1994, supplies fragant and sushi rice, semolina and maize products and has diversified into retail snacks including pumpkin seeds and pop rice but has only recently explored export opportunities.

Speaking at an event organised by UKTI in partnership with TheBusinessDesk.com to launch the annual Export Week of events across Yorkshire, sales director Jason Bull said the Huddersfield-based business started trading internationally last year and has built sales of sushi rice and snack products to £240,000 in 12 months.

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He said exports currently represents 7.5% of the firm’s turnover but it is looking to develop further products including more healthy snacks for export to markets including the US and Canada and Europe.

“We aim to increase the export turnover of the business by 50% within the next three years, and aim to have 20 to 30% of the company’s total turnover generated from exports,” Mr Bull told the audience of 100 people at the event at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Leeds.

“I would recommend to any business that it should look at export opportunities and UKTI is the best partner to help you do that,” he added.

Also speaking at the event was Anne Wilson, managing director of Sheffield tool firm Numill, which reclaims, designs, and manufactures consumable cutting tools.

After sales success in Europe including Scandinavia, France, Denmark, Spain, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, Numill has been working with UKTI’s support to successfully develop new markets in South East Asia including Singapore and Malaysia.

After working in banking she joined Numill as a book-keeper in 2000 and rose up the ranks to complete a management buyout of the company six years later. The MBO was the subject of the dissertation Ms Wilson wrote as part of her management degree.

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Mark Robson, regional director of UKTI, urged Yorkshire firms to use Export Week as the platform to look at overseas markets.

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“International trade isn’t difficult, it’s just different. If you are not selling overseas then you certainly should be thinking about it. And if you are but you think you can do more then please contact UKTI and we’ll see what we can do to help you grow. We work with around 3,000 companies a year and I’m sure we can help you as well,” he said.

UKTI is already working with 7,000 firms in this region who are trading overseas.

 

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