NEW YORK: Exports from the North East during the first quarter of 2015 fell slightly on the same period last year.
Official data from the Office for National Statistics showed that while the North East was one of only three English regions to increase exports over the year to the end of March, exports fell from £3.3bn to £3.2bn from the final quarter of 2014 to the first part of 2015.
Over the year ending March 2015, the US was the region’s biggest export partner by value, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany.
In the same period, machinery and transport equipment represented the top export commodities by value, followed by chemicals, manufactured goods, and food and live animals.
The overall number of exporters in the region was down slightly at 1,017. Only the South East and Northern Ireland also experienced declines.
Nationally exports fell by 7% quarter-on-quarter, and fell by 5% from the first quarter of 2014.
In light of a forthcoming UK referendum on membership of the EU, exports to the union totalled £100.8bn, down from £107.6bn the year before. Meanwhile exports to non-EU countries totalled £108.2bn.
Jonathan Walker, head of Policy and Campaigns, NECC said: “It’s reassuring that the North East continues to be the only English region with a consistently positive balance of trade and this strong performance is actually driven by a relatively small number of exporters.
