It’s likely that calls will be renewed to help boost sea exports and others in the UK after official figures revealed that they had fallen to their lowest value since July last year.
According to the Office for National Statistics, exports dropped by 1.2 per cent, or £500 million, to settle at £42.2 billion, which the organisation said was made up of a £200 million decline in the export of services, as well as a £300 million drop in goods exportation.
Chancellor George Osborne warned earlier this week that 2016 would most likely be one of the hardest years for business since the recession, with the trade gap in Britain remaining high after the drop in exports was seen, the Guardian reports.
“While the narrowing of the trade deficit for goods in November is a positive development, there’s little encouragement for UK manufacturers because it was solely driven by lower imports. Disappointingly, exports remained lacklustre,” deputy chief economist at EEF Zach Witton was quoted by the news source as saying.
David Kern, chief economist with the British Chambers of Commerce, made further comments on the matter, saying unless “radical measures” are now taken in order to improve the export performance in the country, the trade deficit will continue to threaten the long-term economic performance in the UK.
Further research from the BCC revealed earlier this week that the majority f key manufacturing and services balances were weaker for the last quarter of 2015, with manufacturing firms faring the worst. Slower economic growth in the short term was send for the quarter.
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