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The British Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with DHL, today (Friday) publishes its latest Quarterly International Trade Outlook, based on survey and documentation data from UK exporters, including those in Norfolk. The Outlook indicates that many exporters are performing well but economic and political factors are weighing on them.

The survey, of over 2,600 exporters, found that confidence in future operations remains strong, but external economic and political factors are having an impact. The results show 60% of exporting manufacturers were more concerned about exchange rates in the second quarter of the year than in the previous three months. There was also increased concern among 43% of service exporters,

highlighting the broad impact of the weakness of the pound.

The findings indicate that price pressures eased slightly on exporters during the second quarter of the year. However, those manufacturers under pressure to raise prices report the cost of raw materials as the leading factor (81%). Service firms believe the cost of raw materials (39%) and other overheads (51%) are the leading sources of cost pressure.

The escalating labour shortage in the UK is also having a serious impact on exporters, with a staggering 69% of recruiting manufacturers struggling to find staff.

Elsewhere, the BCC/DHL Trade Confidence Index, which measures the volume of trade documents issued by accredited Chambers of Commerce for goods shipments, decreased slightly on the quarter (-1.34%), but still stands higher than at the same quarter in the previous year.

The Outlook indicates that many UK exporters are maintaining their competitiveness in foreign markets with healthy sales and order books, but the weakness of the pound is increasing the cost of raw materials imported from abroad. With growing tension around the nature of the future UK-EU trading relationship and escalating trade disputes with key partners such as the US, the government must do all it can to maintain confidence and take unilateral action to improve the domestic business environment wherever possible.

Key findings from the report:

• 39% of exporting manufacturers saw an increase in export orders over the last three months, 30% of exporting service firms report an increase
• 60% of manufacturing exporters are more concerned about exchange rates than three months ago (up from 56% in the previous quarter)
• 26% of manufacturing exporters and 25% of service firm exporters are more concerned about inflation than three months ago
• 35% of exporting manufacturers and 32% of exporting service firms expect the price of their goods/services to increase
• For those manufacturing exporters under pressure to increase prices, 81% report the cost of raw materials as the leading source of pressure
• 77% of exporting manufacturers and 67% of services firms attempted to recruit in the last three months, however, of those, 69% and 60% respectively reported difficulties finding the right staff
• The BCC/DHL Trade Confidence Index, a measure of the volume of trade documentation issued nationally, fell by 1.34% on the quarter. The Index now stands at 125.26 – the fifth highest level since records began in 2004.

Commenting on the findings, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs for Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:

“These are unusual times, and the escalating political and economic turbulence doesn’t go unnoticed by Norfolk businesses.  It’s been a summer of trade tensions and endless Brexit bickering, and exporters are particularly exposed to the consequences of that turmoil.

“Companies in our region will always find a way to trade with each other, but messy negotiations and the threat of higher tariffs have implications, and can hit confidence and firms’ bottom lines. While many Norfolk exporters are making the most of their competitive advantage in foreign markets, the fall of sterling also puts considerable pressure on the cost of imports and the volatility can make it difficult to plan.

“The UK government can’t control currency or the actions of trading partners, but it can take steps to mitigate the level of uncertainty at home. Reaching a pragmatic and business-focused Brexit deal with the EU this autumn would go a long way to reassure markets and business communities. Addressing issues in the domestic environment – most importantly the shortage of skills in the UK – should also be top of the agenda when parliament returns next week.”

Ian Wilson, CEO DHL Express UK and Ireland, said:

“The resilience of UK exporters is highlighted with this quarter’s Trade Confidence Index. Despite being a slight decline on the previous quarter, the index remains up year on year and it is encouraging to see it stands at the fifth highest level on record. This strong performance also reflects what I hear from our customers and, at DHL Express, we continue to support an abundance of energetic, internationally-focussed UK entrepreneurs to take their businesses to the world.

The uncertain climate exporters are operating in and the challenges faced cannot be overlooked, but with all uncertainty comes opportunity – and continuing to trade internationally and expanding your portfolio of markets (and market segments) still provides the best way to spread business risk and ensure long-term revenue and profitability growth.

The growing labour shortage continues to be a very real hurdle that is impacting a vast number of sectors. Amidst challenging and unpredictable times, industry and government must work closely to ensure that we identify and develop UK talent in order to future-proof our businesses for what lies ahead.”

The first Norfolk Enterprise Festival is set to take place this summer, providing a forum for entrepreneurs across the county to meet, mingle and celebrate our thriving business community.

Attendees will be able to hear from some of Norfolk’s most successful entrepreneurs at a series of talks, participate in workshops and receive feedback from their peers.

Our county is a hub for individuals with an ambitious, enterprising spirit and is home to over 8,000 fast growing small businesses across a wide variety of industries. However, many find themselves isolated from the wider business community and see their potential limited by a lack of support and communication networks.

This is something the Norfolk Enterprise Festival hopes to change. The brainchild of local businessman Mark Lapping, CEO of Aquapak Polymers, and George Freeman, MP for Mid Norfolk, the festival hopes to drive prosperity and growth for small businesses across the county.

“Norfolk is a powerhouse of high growth small businesses in all sectors, from technology to tourism, gin to genetics, finance to food, creating jobs and innovative products. But the micro and start-up sector needs a stronger voice and all of us in public office or private enterprise need to reach out to show our support. We’ve started this Festival to create a forum for the entrepreneurial community to come together and help make sure its voice is properly heard,” says Mark Lapping. “We believe that the Norfolk Enterprise Festival is the intervention the county needs to take its potential to the next level.”

Norfolk Chamber Chief Executive, Chris Sargisson is speaking at the Festival and will be giving his top five tips for success as an entrepreneur.  Commenting on the first ever Norfolk Enterprise Festival he said:  “This event is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate, champion, promote and support Norfolk’s growing entrepreneurial community”

Also speaking at the festival will be Chris Starkie, Chief Executive at New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, he added, “This event will help to turn great ideas into the successful businesses of tomorrow.”

The festival will take place on Saturday, September 22 at Westacre Theatre. Tickets are free, and registration available through the festival’s website https://norfolkenterprisefestival.co.uk/. For more enquiries, or to find out how to get involved, contact the Norfolk Enterprise Festival on admin@norfolkenterprisefestival.co.uk.

One week into the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey – have you completed yours yet?

With the second quarter of 2018 behind us, and amid growing international uncertainty, from escalating trade disputes to oil price rises, the UK economy continued to grow at a sluggish rate. Brexit is a key factor – but long-standing structural issues also continue to hold companies’ growth back.

In the last quarter, the dominant service sector, consumer-facing industries, such as hospitality and retail, reported tougher trading conditions. Cashflow and investment intentions fell significantly for retailers as consumer spending continued to remain subdued.  Meanwhile the UK manufacturing sector reported improved domestic sales orders and Norfolk manufacturers reported increases in their export sales and orders. 

Is the uncertainty of Brexit impacting on your business?; have you seen an increase in sales and orders?; are you having recruit difficulties or facing supply chain challenges? – it’s more important than ever that as many Norfolk businesses as possible complete the survey.

Take part in the Q3 Quarterly Economic Survey (QES).   It is the largest independent business survey in the UK and is used by both the Bank of England and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to plan the future of the UK economy.  It is also closely watched by the International Monetary Fund.

You can have your say by completing the QES online NOW   It takes less than 3 minutes.  The completion deadline for this survey is midnight on Monday 17 September 2018.  The Q3 results will be published week commencing 08 October 2018

Key Norfolk findings from the previous Q2 2018 survey:

Norfolk Manufacturing sector:

• The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales rose from +16 to +35, while the balance reporting improved domestic orders also rose, from +23 to +35
• The balance of firms reporting increased export sales rose from +31 to +44. The balance reporting improved export orders also rose, from +26 to +31
• The balance of firms increasing investment in training fell, from +33 to +5, while the balance of those increasing investment in plant and machinery also fell from +33 to +30
• The percentage of firms looking to recruit remained steady at +30 while the number of those struggling to recruit rose significantly from +67 t0 +82
• Cashflow continues to be a concern within manufacturing, with just +10% reporting improved cashflow.
• The balance of firms expecting turnover to increase remained static +45 (from +46)
• 67% of firms in the sector expect the cost of their raw materials to rise in the next three months
• Confidence that profitability will improve over the next twelve months dipped from +35 to +30

Norfolk Services sector:

• The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales rose from +19 to +34, while the balance reporting improved domestic orders rose considerably from +13 to +28
• The balance of firms reporting increased export sales also rose, from +8 to +35. The balance reporting improved export orders also rose substantially, to +22 from +6
• The balance of firms increasing investment in training rose to +22 from +13
• The percentage of firms looking to recruit rose from14% to 37%, but the number of those struggling to recruit also rose to 82% (from 63%)
• Cashflow is a concern, with just 12% reporting improved cashflow.
• The balance of firms expecting turnover to increase in the next year increased, from +24 to +59
• Confidence that profitability will improve over the next twelve months increased from +15 to +36

The Norfolk Enterprise Festival has confirmed that there will be an investment prize of £10,000 for their Angel’s Den!

Proudly sponsored by Anglia Capital, Grant Thornton and Mills & Reeve the Angel’s Den provides you the opportunity to pitch your business idea, whether it be an idea you have always had, a start-up, expansion or desire to start exporting; you could be one of three finalists selected to receive specialist advice and coaching from Grant Thornton to pitch in the Angel’s Den to a panel of business Angel’s.  First prize will be £10,000 of business support to help turn your idea into reality.

So if you’ve ever had a business idea and wondered if it would work, this is your chance to find out and give it a go! 

Pitch to the ‘Angel’s’ at the Norfolk Enterprise Festival, on the 22nd of September at WestAcre.

You can apply with a 1-minute video and a 1-page document explaining your idea!

The deadline for submitting your application is Thursday 13 September 2018.

Don’t delay – apply now!

The Middle East Association, in partnership with the Kurdistan Regional Government, are leading a Multi-Sector Trade Mission to Iraqi Kurdistan from 24th February to 1st March 2013 visiting Erbil & Duhok.

To date, the MEA has organised and led nine very successful delegations to Iraqi Kurdistan and are seen as specialists in this market. The Mission will give delegates the opportunity to meet Iraqi and Kurdish businesspeople, to network and to explore new business opportunities with government officials, investors, traders & distributors.

This Mission will have a particular focus on healthcare, education, infrastructure, hydroelectric power generation, agriculture and water treatment and each of these areas of interest will have a comprehensive sector-specific mission programme organised by the KRG.

The FCO Travel Advice very clearly distinguishes the Kurdistan Region from other parts of Iraq and no travel restrictions are in place. The stable security situation has lent itself to business prosperity. British-Kurdish relations are strong and British business is welcomed and encouraged for the high quality of its skills, expertise and products.

To pre-register your interest and obtain further information as soon as it is available, please click here, complete your details and a full prospectus including costs, itinerary & draft programme will be forward to you by e-mail shortly.