HIGH growth international markets offer Scottish businesses the chance to trade on the world stage, delivering high quality products and expertise in an ever smaller, but competitive global market.
Last week’s international trade conference held by the British Chambers of Commerce in London reinforced this with its message to “Trade the World”.
The network of 52 accredited British Chambers in the UK joined colleagues from 41 British international Chambers across the globe, and shared ideas for growing British exports.
The international network of Chambers is based in high growth markets, and they are set up to provide support and advice to thousands of UK-based SMEs on their export journey.
Research we carried out earlier this year shows that the majority of exporting firms in the North-east (69%) reported an increase in overseas sales in the past 12 months.
However, the same research shows that the majority of the exporters surveyed have been trading internationally for more than 10 years, with no new exporters in the previous two years.
We need to encourage more companies to go beyond our shores.
Our Chamber works in partnership with many organisations and our trade missions over the last couple of years have helped our members do business in Brazil, Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and most recently in Mexico.
It concerns us that, while there are many support schemes for companies, many small companies with a high potential for growth are left unidentified.
Local Chambers are by their nature closer to business than government agencies and can do more.
Our trade mission to Mexico last month focused on the oil & gas sector, but it was also a great example of the key role that partnership can play in accessing new markets.
We started by helping our members to understand the opportunity that a reformed energy market in Mexico could deliver.
We provided market intelligence, understanding of the business environment and advice on getting goods and people into the market.
And with the help of UKTi and the British Chamber in Mexico, we were able to deliver a well-planned diary of business meetings, participation in an energy conference and business visits for our delegates.
Now it’s down to our members to leverage trade through the connections they have made and the knowledge they gleaned by getting their feet on Mexican soil, and meeting potential customers.
A week in a new market only represents an opportunity to build knowledge and business contacts.
New orders may take a little longer, but our country won’t deliver the kind of export growth that we need if we expect exporters to come to us.
The global market is highly competitive, but both Scottish and British labelled products can still demand a premium.
The appetite of Scottish businesses to find new customers outside the UK demonstrates that business here knows that growing exports is critical to their future success.