The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) has reported the latest trade statistics show mixed fortunes for the region but a stronger performance than the rest of the country.
North East exports in Q1 2016 totalled £2.92bn. This is down slightly from £2.97bn in Q4 2015, and a dip from £3.2bn in the same period last year.
Exports to the EU showed the most positive signs with strong growth from the previous quarter, increasing by 8.9%.
Ben Powick, Policy Adviser, NECC said: “It is really positive news that we have once again retained our historic trade surplus, which is over half a billion for the quarter. However we need to have more Government support for our exporters, to encourage them to grow and maximise opportunities.”
The number of North East exporters was down slightly at 1,045, a 3.7% decrease from the previous quarter, but this is still a 2.4% increase from the same period last year, the largest rise out of the UK regions year-on-year.
Non-EU exports showed a different picture at £1.03bn, which is a 16.9% fall from the previous quarter and a 21.4% decrease from the same period last year, which off-set any benefit gained from our increased EU export figure.
Ben Powick said: “Looking at the performance across the board, there are positives and negatives with EU exporters remaining strong and making up the bulk of our exports in this quarter, accounting for 64.8% of our total exports. The disappointing figure for non-EU exports presents a challenge. Exporters need support to make sure they can make the most of international opportunities and UKTI have an important part of play in this.”