When I left Singapore on Saturday night the temperature was a balmy 32 degrees and when I touched down in Manchester on Sunday morning it was to be welcomed (I use the word loosely) by a blizzard and minus 2 degrees. The taxi just about made it through the snow and I was left to consider the success of our trade mission to Malaysia and Singapore.
World trade is clearly bouncing back (it’s anticipated to grow by about 5.8% over the next twelve months) and it’s clear that emerging economies are leading the way with their increase averaging more like 6.5%. All the companies on the mission had positive news to tell. The mission went extremely well and although it is a little early to predict I am hopeful that orders received as a result of the leads we made on this trip will eventually amount to a six figure sum, contributing to the North West's excellent record as an exporting region.
UKTI has a great team of advisors in the UK regions and I’m extremely proud of the work my team does here in the North West, but we could not exist without the wonderful support of our trade and investment teams in the Embassies and High Commissions around the world. I must say that Trevor Lewis in KL and Amanda Brookes in Singapore have outstanding teams who will move heaven and earth to help British firms gain access to their markets and it’s important to remember that it’s not just a case of having UK based diplomats operating in the market. Around the world we have talented people who are part of our teams and they bring real local knowledge, language, culture, business expertise and an ability to be able to pick up the phone and open doors on behalf of Britain. I’ve seen it in action this last week and we can be very proud of the tremendous work our teams are doing for British business - not just in Malaysia and Singapore, but around the world.
As a manufacturing man I have been heartened by the FT’s reports on Monday and Tuesday with some very positive news on manufacturing and exporting. The Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply published its latest report and, in a nutshell, UK manufacturing grew at its fastest pace for 15 years last month and the Purchasing Mangers’ Index saw its biggest jump in export orders in the index’s history.
There is no room for complacency. This is good news but we can and must continue to perform at the top of our game and to do better still - but it’s an indication that business is out there. I saw it in South East Asia. For a determined, competitive group of British firms, ably supported by UKTI both in the regions and in overseas markets, there are real opportunities to grow exports now and in the coming months and years.