Exports growth in East Midlands the highest of the UK regions

The number of VAT-registered businesses invested in goods exports across the UK has increased to 110,800, an increase of over 1,000 since this time last year

Published by HMRC, the figures also reveal that in 2018 compared to 2017:

• Exports of goods from England increased by 2.1% to £248.6 billion
• in Scotland, goods exports increased by 5.6% to £30.3 billion
• in Wales, goods exports increased by 4.2% to £17.2 billion
• in Northern Ireland, goods increased by 1.9% to £8.9 billion

Businesses have seen an increased appetite for UK goods from non-EU countries, with the number exporting to these countries in the last quarter rising by 1.3% to 49,900.

The most popular non-EU destination was the USA, where 20.2% of exporters sold goods to, Australia (7.7%) and Switzerland (7.6%).

When comparing 2018 to 2017, the strongest growth in goods exports within UK regions came from East Midlands, which saw the greatest rise in value (up 7.9%) followed by Yorkshire and The Humber (up 7.8%) and Scotland (up 5.6%).

In the final three months of 2018, the average value of goods exported in the UK per exporter was £780,000.

View the full report here.