New figures show that the south east of England exported £46,820 million worth of goods in 2018. This is an increase of £7,779 million since 2015; a rise of 19.9 per cent.

Over the last three years, there have been 1,791 more businesses exporting in the south east.

According to HM Revenue & Customs, in 2018, the total value of goods exports was £336.9 billion in the United Kingdom. This is 2.6 per cent higher than 2017, and 22.3 per cent higher than in 2015 – which is an increase of £61.5 billion.

Crawley MP Henry Smith has welcomed the latest figures, which show that businesses across all corners of the country are exporting around the world.

Henry said;

“These figures show south east England is open for business, and that the excellent goods provided by businesses across the area are in demand across the world.

“It’s great to see that so many British businesses are exporting. It’s vital that companies get the support they need to grow – the Export Strategy will support more companies to export so that they can create more, better-paid jobs.

“These results show we’re in a position of strength as we begin to forge a new role for ourselves in the world – creating a UK trade policy so that we can build a country that works for everyone.”

The figures are the latest confirmation that the UK remains a great exporting nation – with exports in goods and services helping to create more, better-paying jobs across the country.

The Government’s Export Strategy will continue to build on these successes as we leave the European Union. This ambitious plan will help to boost British exports to 35 per cent of GDP, so that British businesses can lead the way in creating jobs, raising wages and growing our economy.