South West exporters are aiming to expand their sales in Latin America by taking part in the region’s first virtual trade missions to Mexico and Chile.
With full Brexit looming and the coronavirus pandemic having a huge impact on the economy, businesses are being advised to look to international trade for greater security.
So the Department for International Trade (DIT) has organised the virtual missions to Mexico, from November 10 to 13, and Chile, from November 24 to 25.
Led by Sarah Hildersley, DIT’s Market specialist for Latin America in the region, firms will participate in briefing sessions with market experts and sector specialists and take part in tailored one-to-one meetings.
They will be joined by the British Chamber of Commerce in Chile and the Mexico UK Business Council, along with international trade advisors from DIT and Business West.
The aim is to accelerate business discussions virtually to deliver sales more promptly, given the difficulties of international travel for business currently.
The programme is worth £2,500 to each company, and without travel costs and time taken to travel to these markets, there are additional savings.
Joanne Scutcher, sales and marketing manager at Octavius Hunt, based in Bristol, who is taking part in both trade missions, said: “Contact with potential customers has been very limited and in the current climate it’s difficult to convince companies to take on a new range.Having the support of a trade mission and on the ground DIT advisers is extremely valuable.”
Total UK exports to Mexico amounted to £2.5billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2020and is another market that South West businesses are keen to expand into.
Stephen Burns, DIT export champion and managing director of Pyropress, based in Plymouth, said: “During the pandemic, revenue has dropped as economies have shrunk rapidly. Export sales have reduced less than the home UK market, and have been supporting the business through the current challenging times.Further expansion of sales territories at this time is therefore especially important.”
Total trade in goods and services between Chile and the UK for the year ending June 2019 was worth £2.2billion, a 10.7% increase on the same period in 2018.
The British Chamber of Commerce in Chile will attend the virtual event to give businesses across the South West key advice on entering the market.
Garry Smith, managing director of Trimetals, based in Dorset, will be on the trade mission to Chile, and said: “During the pandemic, Trimetal’s sales have boomed as there has been an increase in demand for garden and leisure products, particularly bicycle storage.
“Export opportunities and visiting potential new distributors in the hope of developing strong trading relationships has become a huge focus of ours with DIT’s support.”
Alex Sheen, head of Sales at Sheppy’s Cider, in Somerset, said: “The most exciting thing for me is picturing someone drinking our products in countries as far away from the UK as Chile, and achieving this by building new relationships with people who have the same passion as we do for selling our ciders to consumers.
“Without DIT’s pipeline of opportunities I know we wouldn’t have grown our export business at the same rate we have over the last five to 10 years.”
