Town's firms see big drop in trade

Businesses fear a double dip recession and expect a significant fall in profitability for the remainder of 2010, said the Doncaster Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber's members are deeply concerned about the impact public sector spending cuts could have.

"As this is to be a key battle in the upcoming election, the political parties must consider the effect of budget cuts on what is clearly still a fragile economy, whilst outlining for the benefit of tax payers and businesses alike just how the deficit will be managed," said the chamber's report.

The report said domestic trade fell 22 per cent, while overseas trade fell 18 per cent.

Head of policy Daniel Fell said: "These numbers are exactly what we were expecting to see.

"Low levels of growth during 2010 have been forecast for months and these figures send a clear message to the political parties in the run up to the election – the economy is still too fragile to be thinking about irresponsible budget cuts that may impact on business performance."