Although there was a slight drop in the value of the goods for export in the last quarter, they still amounted to £75.7bn. Since then, orders have picked up.
Some of the increase came in orders from parts of the EU, particularly of cars. Although it has not been an easy year, indications are that the major European markets are becoming more stable since the beginning of 2013 and activity seems to be picking in both the core of Europe and periphery economies.
But with all the problems in Europe since the crash in 2008, UK manufacturers have been focussing more on new export markets. Sales of goods to emerging economies in Asia and South America have increased as a result.
Between 2010 and 2012, UK sales of manufactured goods to China rose by 40%; to Brazil they were up by a quarter; to Russia they jumped more than 60% and to Indonesia were up by more than half.
While the EU has traditionally been the UK’s major export market, the balance tipped in June 2012 when exports outside the EU were for the first time greater than those within the EU.
Total exports for the year to September 2013 were £501.7bn.
