Export strategy set to boost exports to £1 trillion

25 Nov 2021

The Government's ambitious export strategy, ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’, is geared to help businesses across the UK double exports and sell their world-class products around the globe.

The 12-point export strategy - published by the Department for International Trade - includes an Export Support Service that offers a one-stop shop for exporting advice, and the launch of a new UK Tradeshow Programme better-tailored to help businesses, particularly those outside London and the South East, to attend and promote their products around the world.

DIT will also be expanding its Export Academy – launched in October – to roll it out across all of the UK including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The academy will invite owners and managers of SMEs to access masterclasses, roundtables and networking events that help them overcome common challenges first-time exporters face.

The UK exported £600 billion in goods and services last year, but only around one in ten GB businesses currently export – with the number of goods exporters falling behind continental competitors like Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Unlocking the UK’s exporting potential will help level up the country and boost the UK’s economy, with government commissioned research estimating that exports supported 6.5 million jobs across the UK in 2016, and showing that exporters pay higher wages. Separate analysis shows that goods exporting businesses are on average 21 percent more productive.