Annual Scottish exports rocket to £23.9 billion

The latest Global Connections Survey shows Scotland is successfully strengthening its international economic links, with Scottish exports increasing by £1.6 billion to £23.9 billion in 2011.

The tenth Global Connections Survey estimates a seven per cent increase in manufacturing and service sector exports since 2010. Despite a global slowdown Scottish exporters have seen a higher rate of growth in exports than in 2010. In particular Scottish exports to the EU increased by 14.7 per cent, and exports to Asia have grown by 8.7 per cent.

The top five exporting industries in 2011 were: food and beverages (£4.2 billion); manufacture of coke, refined petroleum and chemicals (£3.7 billion); computer, electronic and optical products (£1.4 billion), financial and insurance activities (£1.4 billion) and the mechanical engineering sector (£1.4 billion). Together these industries accounted for around 50 per cent of total international exports from Scotland.

First Minister Alex Salmond and Scottish Enterprise CEO Lena Wilson today visited MESL Microwave, an Edinburgh-based microwave and electronics firm, which exports 70 per cent of products and is strengthening its work in the emerging space market. MESL is increasing its overseas activity with the support of Scottish Enterprise, which includes £67,000 research and development funding for the development of space components. Since diversifying its operations to capitalise on the space sector, it has exported products to:

• NASA (USA) for components used in monitoring the world’s oceans from space;

• Mitsubishi (Japan) for components used in the guidance system for the rocket used to re-supply the international space station.

• Thales Alenia Space (France) for ferrite isolators for digital broadcasts from satellites in space.

The Global Connections Survey shows that USA remains Scotland’s top export destination with an estimated £3.5 billion of exports in 2011. This is followed the Netherlands (£2.7 billion), France (£1.9 billion) and Germany (£1.4 billion).

Exports to the rest of the UK in 2011 are estimated at £45.5 billion with £24.5 billion attributable to service sector companies and £11.6 billion to manufacturing sector companies.

The continuing engagement of the Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies with other countries is driven by its overarching purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth. The Government Economic Strategy has set a target to deliver a 50 per cent increase in the value of international exports by 2017.

First Minister Alex Salmond said:

“Strengthening Scotland’s economic links to other countries is a priority of this Government and this latest survey demonstrates that our drive and work to seize overseas exports is really taking off – our exports have literally rocketed.

“The public sector is focused on working effectively with the business community to showcase on a global stage the products and services Scotland has to offer, and to help companies operating in Scotland to grow and export.

“MESL are boldly going where few Scottish exporters have gone before through their work with NASA and Mitsubishi, and they are just one of the many firms receiving advice and support from our enterprise agencies to grasp growth opportunities.

“There are exciting opportunities to seize in emerging economies in Asia, South America, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe and also in the traditional export markets such as US and Europe. Improving our access and dialogue with international growth markets will open up Scottish exports to new customers and build on Scotland’s attractiveness as a place for international trade and investment.

“The work of Scottish Development International, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise is supporting our economy and is a key resource for the companies driving the £1.6 billion increase in 2011 exports.

“This latest survey shows welcome growth, which takes us another step towards our target of a 50 per cent increase in the value of international exports by 2017. In this economic climate we recognise there’s no room for complacency and that is why we are using every lever currently available to us to secure new investment and to increase the number and value of Scottish exports.”

MESL Microwave Managing Director Mike Huggan said:

“MESL microwave has achieved great success internationally and we export more than 70 per cent of the components we manufacture.

“We are implementing a 10 year plan to diversify into the Space payload market to create the highly skilled, high added value jobs required to ensure that Scotland and the UK remain that the forefront of the world’s technology markets.

“The world class engineering skills available in Scotland has already been recognised with our company winning projects to develop components for NASA (Jet Propulsion Labs) for a satellite to measure the oceans surface height and with Mitsubishi for components for the guidance of the HTV rocket which is the new supply vessel for the international space station that replaces the US space shuttle along with Thales Alenia Space and Astrium, two of the world’s leading satellite manufacturers.

“We are working with Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International to ensure our continued success in this new Space market and new geographical territories. 95 per cent of the products we have designed for Space are for export markets, this new strategic direction for MESL will ensure the success of the company for the coming 48 years whilst remaining in Scotland.”

Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Lena Wilson said:

“These figures clearly demonstrate the continued demand for Scottish products and services globally. The results are hugely significant and report strong growth in exports to emerging markets such as Asia and South America, as well as sustained growth in the more traditional economies and further highlight the international growth opportunities which exist for Scottish companies.

"We continue to work hard with our partners to provide a joined up package of international business support that helps Scottish companies increase their international trade in order to drive forward both their own growth and that of the Scottish economy."