Overseas export growth

The volume of manufactured goods sales to overseas markets grew by 1.8 per cent during the third quarter of 2014, according to figures published today.

Exports of refined petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical products grew by 8.9 per cent and food and drink exports rose by 0.6 per cent over the quarter.

The volume of exports fell by 0.5 per cent on an annual basis, but a number of sectors saw an increase over the past year. Non-metallic products, other manufacturing and repair increased by 10.1 per cent, metals and metal products grew by 12.3 per cent and textiles, clothing and leather rose by 5.7 per cent.

Commenting on the figures, the Deputy First Minister John Swinney said:

“Scotland is an immensely wealthy and productive country and our economy continues to flourish, making this country one of the best places to do business.

“Today’s figures show that two of the largest exporting industries - refined petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical products and food and drink – enjoyed the third consecutive quarter of expansion.

“These statistics follow on from the Scottish Government’s Global Connections Survey published on Monday which showed that Scotland’s exported goods and services were worth a record £27.9bn in 2013, a rise of 7.2% on the previous year.

“Scotland’s economic recovery has grown continuously for two years and recent GDP figures show that the Scottish economy grew at its fastest annual rate since 2007.

“Labour market statistics published this month also show that the number of people in employment in Scotland has increased by 50,000 over the year, reaching a record high.

"The focus of our economic strategy on innovation and internationalisation is essential to address the headwinds to the recovery, particularly weaknesses in key export markets as well as political uncertainty at the UK level.

“We will continue to do all we can to ensure the positive trends continue, but with further job creating powers, we could do even more to help families throughout Scotland.”

Nick Shields, Director, Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service said:

“It is great to see exports rising by 1.8% on last quarter with strong performances in particular from chemicals and food and drink sectors.

“Export performance is a bell-weather for the health of an economy, and in particular the manufacturing sector which drives around 60% of our exports. A high level of exports indicates that an economy is productive, making products that are not readily available in foreign markets and at a price customers are willing to pay, at SMAS we focus intensely on improving productivity which acts as a foundation for this and is therefore a key enabler of export growth.

“Whilst it is encouraging to see continued growth we still have a long way to go to meet our export targets. We know that 55% of our exports come from a small number of large businesses. We need to expand this pool of export oriented businesses by helping companies manufacture innovative products for the global market in the most competitive way possible. For manufacturing businesses, large and small, the challenge is in front of us and it is our role to support these firms on their export journey.”