A business organisation has reported a record month for exports from the South West, despite the national economy shrinking.
Business West processed a record number of export documents in July 2019, demonstrating what it calls the strength and resilience of South West businesses, despite the gloomy national economic outlook.
On average, Business West, which is a member of the British Chambers of Commerce, certified 125 European Certificates of Origin each day during July.
European Certificates of Origin are used by exporters to prove the origin of their goods, their weight and country of destination.
Business West – which represents more than 21,000 businesses in Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire - is one of 53 accredited UK chambers authorised to certify Certificates of Origin on behalf of exporters.
Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and Cornwall Chamber of Commerce also issue the certificates.
In addition to the nearly 2,300 plus Certificates of Origin certified in the month of July, Business West also issued over 150 ATA Carnets in the same period.
Carnets are known as a “passport for goods”, meaning that performers and salespeople can transport their goods and equipment across borders temporarily without paying import duties and taxes.
News of a bumper period for South West exporters came as the UK suffered its first fall in GDP in six and a half years.
Between April and June the economy shrank 0.2%. Another quarter of negative growth would tip the UK into its first recession since the financial crisis.
Phil Smith, managing director at Business West said: “Despite the UK economy teetering on the edge of a recession, South West businesses keep on trading with the world.
“This is reflected by that fact that our 19-strong export documentation team processed more export documents in the last 30 days than ever before.
“As the largest chamber in the UK, not only are we one of the UK's leading providers of export document, we are also a bellwether for the economic health of this region.”
South West firms have exported an astonishing £21.6billion in goods during the past year despite the global economy being “challenging”, official figures show.
In June 2019, Government data showed South West firms had exported £21.6billion in goods during the past year.
HMRC data revealed that as well as overseas demand for goods from the South West being at a record high, the region had recorded four consecutive years of growth in goods exports.
The Department for International Trade said the overseas sales success was “despite an increasingly challenging global economic environment” and stressed that the world continues to demand British goods from regions across the country.
HMRC data showed goods exports from the South West in the 2018/19 financial year grew by 4% to a record high of £21.6billion.
Goods exports from the South West have now grown for four consecutive years, the joint highest in the country.
As well as increased demand for goods from the South West, the number of businesses from the region exporting goods abroad had also shot up.
In the first quarter of 2019, a total of 8,352 South West-based businesses exported abroad - 162 more than during the same period in the previous year.
A growing contributor to the increased demand for goods from the South West was the spiralling demand from Latin America and Caribbean, where exports grew in the 2018/19 financial year by 13.5% to £269million.
