TRADE SECRETARY CHAMPIONS SMALL BUSINESSES TO REACH THEIR EXPORT POTENTIAL

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, Anne-Marie Tnrevelya 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 Anne-Marie Trevelyan 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.