International exports continue to grow

Neil Francis, director of trade and investment at Scottish Development International, said: “These figures represent the highest annual growth in our international exports since 2011 and underline the fact that demand for Scottish products and services continues to grow in international markets.

"The largest single market for Scottish exports remains the US, and the majority of growth came from EU countries with a significant 11% increase on the previous year.

“Our food and drink industry continues to be one of our greatest export success stories with our high-quality produce accounting for around 18% of our total exports. We want to see other sectors replicate this export growth by creating products and services to sell globally and we are continuing to work with Scottish business across a wide range of industries to help them embrace international opportunities.”