- New figures show small businesses exported over £99bn in
2019, up £700m on the previous year.
- Currently only 1 in 10 small businesses export, as the Trade
Secretary encourages SMEs to take up Government offer of support
and sell their products to the world.
Small businesses across the country are in prime position to
seize the opportunities of new trade deals and help the UK become
an exporting superpower, the Trade Secretary says today.
On Small Business Saturday, heralds the power of
small businesses and encourages them to take up recently revamped
Government support for exporters, so they can sell more of their
first-class products around the world.
New figures released this week show small businesses exported
over £99bn of goods and services in 2019, up by more than £700m
from the previous year.
However, only 1 in 10 small businesses were selling their
products overseas, with just over 228,000 small businesses
exporting goods and services in 2019.
International Trade Secretary said:
"From the high street to the web, small businesses are at the
heart of our economy. It is great to see so many are reaping the
benefits of exporting and we want to see them go even further.
“Just 1 in 10 small businesses currently export, so we’re
boosting our support to give them direct, tailored advice to help
them on their exporting journey. Many of these businesses are in
prime position to take advantage of the trade deals we are
negotiating, and can play a vital role in helping the UK reach
our Race to a Trillion.”
Last month DIT published a 12-point Export Strategy – titled
‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ – to help get more businesses
selling more products to more countries, so the UK reaches one
trillion pounds a year in goods and service exports.
Alongside the Strategy, DIT hosted International Trade Week,
which featured 20 SME-specific events providing expert, tailored
advice to over 1,000 registered companies who attended.
More than 1,000 businesses have also already signed up to the
newly-expanded UK Export Academy, which offers
free, comprehensive training for SMEs to learn how to sell to
customers and secure contracts around the world with confidence.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Total trade in goods and services for 2019, from ONS UK Trade
in Goods by Business Characteristics, UK Services Trade by
Business Characteristics
- Number of businesses exporting given by ONS Annual Business
Survey. Figures are for GB only and exclude Northern Ireland.
