Region named a global exporting hotspot
New research has revealed Yorkshire is outperforming its Northern neighbours when it comes to businesses which are currently exporting overseas.
The research, which was conducted by Alibaba Group and revealed yesterday during a session at the Be the Business Festival 2022 held at Leeds Armouries, shows 83% of the SMEs which the online marketplace surveyed said they are currently exporting overseas which is more than anywhere else in the Northern Powerhouse and higher than the national average of 77%.
Roland Palmer
Roland Palmer, general manager of UK, Nordics and the Netherlands at Alibaba Group, spoke to TheBusinessDesk.com following the session at the event to talk about the results and said he believes there is a heritage of trade in the region.
“Yorkshire has historically been good at exporting, particularly those traditional industries like textiles have been doing it for years,” he said.
He explained that over the last two years he’s seen an acceleration in exporting via online stores.
“91% of all SMES who do export in Yorkshire said online marketplaces were key to exporting, compared to just 66% in the rest of the country.”
Palmer noted he has high hopes for the region’s businesses and sees a real opportunity for Alibaba Group in Yorkshire as it looks to grow its presence with UK businesses.
“Three years ago we started a big drive in Italy, similar to what we’re doing in the UK now. We currently have more than 1,000 Italian companies in some of the key categories in food and drink. We have a really huge opportunity and we want to start that in Yorkshire as it’s top of the UK in our research for exporting.”
Palmer said moving forward, Alibaba will be spending more time in the region as it looks to grow its presence and market share and sellers from the region.
He added the business is already planning to return next month for a stand alone event alongside the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and is actively looking for businesses that perhaps have used Alibaba as a buyer to make the move into selling overseas.
He said: “We’ve got 26m buyers from 190 countries including America, India, Canada, Brazil, Australia and the UK – perhaps countries you might not associate with Alibaba.
“So the minute you sign up your products can be in front of those markets.”
Talking about the strengths of Yorkshire, Palmer highlighted that similar to the example of Italy earlier where success was driven by the food and drink sector, he sees an opportunity for Yorkshire’s producers.
“Food and drink is a big category and I’m convinced Yorkshire is going to do really well on Alibaba.com because we went into Italy and hundreds and hundreds of food and drink businesses were successful, and that’s got to happen here in Yorkshire as well. ”
The research also found Leeds and Sheffield were top of the list of UK cities that consider exporting overseas as an “extremely viable” opportunity with over 80% of business sharing that opinion, ahead of the capital where only two thirds saw it as a viable opportunity.
Asked about the reason for these results, Palmer explained it may be down to the demographics of the research and the fact that at present Alibaba is focused on exporting products whereas in London the big export is services. With Yorkshire’s cities also boasting significant service industries he noted that perhaps in future this is an area his company will look to move into and if that’s the case it may start in London before working north.
But for now he concluded: “We need to be everywhere apart from London and Yorkshire is ahead of the group.
“I’d encourage any businesses already exporting or interested in it to start a conversation with us. We’re open for business in Yorkshire and we want to be an accelerator for trade.”
