Last Updated on: 22nd November 2023, 06:29 pm
Goods worth more than £28.4m exported out of region in Q1 of 2020
Figures are £10m up on final months of 2019
The overall value of goods exported from our region topped £28.4m* in the first quarter of 2020 – despite the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest figures from the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.
Figures are significantly higher than the final months of 2019, when items worth around £18m were exported from across the districts of Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield.
The most noteworthy rise was in Wakefield, where the value of goods exported more than doubled on the final quarter of 2019.
During January, February and March this year, £15,015,711* of goods were exported from Wakefield to regions including Turkey, the UAE, Qatar, Ukraine and India. March was particularly productive, despite the onset of government guidelines introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic, with a total value of goods exported of more than £9m*. Textiles was the most widely exported commodity, followed by chemicals, food and machinery.
This represents a notable rise on figures for the previous quarter, which saw less than £6m of goods exported from the Wakefield area.
In Huddersfield, the value of overall goods exported in quarter one equated to £7,362,711* while Halifax recorded a figure of £6,053,286*. In both regions, figures for March were stronger than for the first two months of the year.
Huddersfield businesses exported machinery, chemicals and textiles in significant quantities to the UAE, Egypt and Turkey, with goods also going to India, Israel, Qatar, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
In Halifax, companies sold chemicals, machinery, textiles, food and electrical goods to various locations including China, the UAE, Turkey, the USA and Kuwait.
Leah Quarmby, Export Hub Supervisor, said: “Despite the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, it is encouraging to see that export values rose in all three of our regions, particularly in March. It will be interesting to see how businesses perform during Quarter 2 as the effects of Covid-19 really begin to take hold.”
Martin Hathaway, managing director of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, added: “The strong figures for the quarter are potentially a result of the new government and business optimism at the start of the year, where Brexit questions were finally starting to be answered. While it is encouraging to see the value of exports rising during March, we strongly advise businesses to access our specialist support and advice to keep up to date with the latest developments and opportunities. We’re continuing to work hard to support our members during this unprecedented time.”
My Export Hub is the international trade support arm of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and has been supporting businesses with international documentation for export more than a decade.
For further information, please visit www.myexporthub.co.uk.
