Bernard Ginns: Yorkshire answering the call to make Britain great again

So congratulations to Yorkshire exporters for answering Great Britain’s call and succeeding in selling more goods and services overseas.

Latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs show that the number of regional companies exporting increased by 1.5 per cent over the last year.

That comfortably beats the national average increase of 0.6 per cent.

The value of exports in the first three months of the year reached £3.976bn, up from £3.919bn in the same period of 2011. According to Mark Robson, regional director of UK Trade & Investment, these are encouraging figures.

“They demonstrate once again that as a region we can deliver impressive results despite hugely challenging conditions in domestic markets and the eurozone.

“The eyes of the world are on the UK at the moment because of the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic celebrations, and now is a great time to capitalise on foreign interest and make inroads into global markets where economies are showing steady growth.

“Many businesses are already doing this, exploring opportunities in Eastern Europe, South America, South East Asia and beyond, but many more could follow their lead.

“We still have masses of untapped potential as a region across a range of sectors, from legal and professional services through to healthcare innovation, green technology and infrastructure support solutions.”

He attributes the increase to a growing awareness that trade is the future of growth for companies and the economy.

It is also a business reality: traditional markets have shrunk.

Breaking into new markets is difficult and requires persistence and grit, so the positive trend is doubly encouraging because it suggests real strength of character in elements of the business community.

Exports from Yorkshire companies hit £16.1bn last year, up from £14bn in 2010.

This represents just over 20 per cent of the region’s economy. It is an impressive figure, and it demonstrates the wealth-creating power of international trade, but it needs to be higher.

To that end, it is disappointing that the Yorkshire Institute of Directors has decided to postpone next week’s export convention.

Originally part of the Yorkshire Business and Arts Festival, the event promised to deliver practical, informative and entertaining advice for every business in the region looking to export. It could have acted as a spur to prompt more business leaders to make the leap of faith.

Organisers made the decision after trade minister Lord Green, the keynote speaker, pulled out.

Kenton Robbins, regional director of the IoD, said he was deeply disappointed but felt it was better to reschedule to later in the year.

Lord Green, the former chairman of HSBC, is not the first politician to cancel an appearance at the festival.

Organisers said Lord Prescott sent his apologies because he did not want to appear on the same bill as the Dalai Lama, the main speaker on Friday, in case he offended his political connections in China.

The People’s Republic accuses the Tibetan leader of anti-China separatist activities and last month reacted angrily to Prime Minister David Cameron’s meeting with him.

But a spokesman at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills told me that Lord Green’s decision to pull out “has nothing to do with that at all”.

He said: “It’s purely that there’s the G20 in Mexico. He’s part of a trade delegation. It’s high-level stuff and he’s got to go.”

Word reaches me separately that “doors have been closed” to some UK firms hoping to do business in China because of the Dalai Lama visit.

Is that is the price of free speech?

Staying with exports, Yorkshire companies would be able to increase international trade if they could develop more goods and services that overseas buyers actually want.

Last week I heard a shocking statistic that illustrates the yawning chasm between what goes on in our universities and the commercial world.

The UK’s annual budget for science research is £4.6bn.

But according to Dan Perez, the co-founder of the Marblar online network for scientists and inventors, 90-95 per cent of university disclosures “sit on a shelf collecting dust because the path to market isn’t obvious”.

He told me: “There’s enough unused innovation hiding beneath the Russell Group’s pillow for several industrial revolutions.”

Harnessing just a fraction of this innovation could set up the UK to lead the world again.