Advisers are urged to tell firms to go international

Lord Green, the minister for trade and investment, believes that business advisers have a key role to play in pushing exports.

He is enlisting the support of chief executives of banks and senior partners of accountancy and law firms to promote the cause.

Ministers are expected to launch a new export drive next week as they try to kick-start the ailing UK economy.

Recruiting the services of business advisers is one of a number of initiatives designed to encourage more companies to start exporting their goods and services.

UK Trade & Investment organises trade missions to far-flung destinations and hosts special events in Yorkshire for companies interested in international trade.

It also runs ongoing support programmes and provides trade advisers to help businesses make the first steps into new markets.

UKTI is switching its focus to small and medium-sized businesses as these are seen as crucial to the UK’s growth prospects.

It is gathering a list of major international opportunities for SMEs, in particular large-scale infrastructure projects in countries across the world.

These include port development projects in Brazil, airports in India, the World Cup in Qatar and railways in Vietnam.

Mark Robson, regional director for UKTI, said that Europe remains a core market for UK exporters, despite the crisis in the eurozone.

He said he is working with the local enterprise partnerships in Yorkshire to promote trade and yesterday met with the IoD to spread the message.

On the role of professional services firms, he said: “Everyone has trusted advisers. They should be encouraging their clients to think about international trade as an opportunity.”

Mr Robson added: “International trade is good for you. You should be thinking about it before it is too late. You can sell anything overseas, within reason.

“If you can sell it here, you can sell it somewhere else. It’s a no-brainer.”

UKTI has offices in 96 countries, where staff can help UK firms with introductions and contacts.

It receives around £3m a year to run its operations in Yorkshire. UKTI works with around 800 companies a year in the region. Yorkshire has some catching up to do as its companies export less than the national average.