International trade: Ignore US and Europe ‘at your peril’

THE fashion for talking about the BRIC economies should not be allowed to overshadow the potential for UK exporters from more established markets, according to experts.

For all the enthusiasm for the potential offered by fast growing economies, the reality remains that the United States and Europe remain the major destinations for UK goods and services.

IT, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and the media are all sectors where these established markets can offer the more lucrative opportunities.

TheBusinessDesk.com has this week published a new supplement, in association with Grant Thornon and Cobbetts, exploring the risks and rewards of international trade and offering advice to Yorkshire companies on how to take their first step into overseas markets.

Andy Wood, partner at business and financial advisers Grant Thornton, said: “Investing in the emerging BRIC nations might be very fashionable at the moment but you ignore the US and Europe at your peril.

“There might not be as much growth potential as the BRICs, but there are stable economic conditions and they have some of our major trading partners.”

Despite the tremendous growth in trade by UK companies in emerging economies, the US remains Britain’s largest export market followed by Germany, France and Ireland.

Mark Green, a partner at law firm Cobbetts, said: “Here in the UK, we are seeing a slow and gradual recovery but German growth has excelled in no small part to its own exporting, particularly of high-tech machinery.

“Most of the rest of Europe is currently trying to come out of the recession – but opportunities remain in some countries which want to cut their costs.”