Exports drop significantly in start of 2019

January exporting activity across the Mid-Yorkshire region – Huddersfield, Halifax and Wakefield – dropped by up to 53% when compared to busy months of Q3 2018.

While the overall value of goods exported across the three districts exceeded £30m during the last quarter of 2018, activity has dropped significantly in 2019. The Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce export figures show that just under half of the £30m in Q3 was exported  from Huddersfield, where overall goods exported equated to a value of £13m, followed by Wakefield with £9m and Halifax with £7m.

January saw £6.8m worth of products exported across the Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield districts – a 55% increase compared to the £4.4m in December.

However, whilst 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 (£10m), and 52% lower than October (£14m), showing 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.”

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.

Quarmby 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.”