Many missing out on export opportunities
SMALL and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Yorkshire are failing to seize export opportunities, according to new research, which showed that just a fifth of firms in the region are currently exporting their products or services overseas. The survey also revealed that 17 per cent of UK SMEs currently export their goods or services overseas, and 40 per cent neither export nor plan to do so in the future.
When asked about why they had no plans to export, almost a fifth of Yorkshire firms said that it is too costly for SMEs to export, but more than a tenth of the firms surveyed stated that they had simply never thought about exporting as an option.
The survey by Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking of 2,000 UK businesses, including 79 in Yorkshire, highlighted a regional disparity. Two fifths of South East companies were already exporting their products overseas.
But almost four fifths of Welsh companies asked did not currently export and had no plans to do so in the near future.
Yorkshire ranked fifth in the UK.