Five exporters in South West Bedfordshire which the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce describes as prolific exporters around the world were praised in the House of Commons on Thursday morning. Businesses which export are able to grow faster and are generally able to pay higher wages as well.
The businesses listed by the Chamber of Commerce were EyeOL and Signature Flatbreads UK Ltd in Dunstable, Lindal Valve, Peli Biothermal and Friction Marketing based in Leighton Buzzard. Peli BioThermal temperature-controlled packaging wad used to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and medicines.
Nearly 200 small businesses in the constituency, are exporting globally through Amazon as well.
Exchange in parliament today was as follows.
6. What steps her Department is taking to support business exports.
The Minister for Industry and Economic Security
Businesses are at the heart of the Government’s export strategy, “Made in the UK, Sold to the World”, and of our shared ambition to reach £1 trillion in annual exports by 2030. In the past year, the UK has become the fifth largest exporter of goods and services in the world. Just last week, I personally led a delegation of 20 businesses to the Three Seas summit in Romania, connecting with over 1,500 representatives to help secure contracts, work and export opportunities in the region’s 13 member states.
In my constituency, companies such as EyeOL, Lindal Valve, Peli BioThermal, Friction and Signature Flatbreads all export globally, along with 198 smaller businesses that export through Amazon, yet apparently only 10% of companies export. What more can we do to get businesses to export, not just to Europe but globally? Apparently, businesses that export pay higher wages, so this is part of levelling up, too.
My hon. Friend is a great champion for his businesses and helping them to export. He is absolutely right that free trade agreements and memorandums of understanding are opening up new markets for us, but of course we want to make sure that everyone makes the most of those opportunities. That is why we are ensuring that UK exporters have the skills they need through our innovative export academy; the information they need to capitalise on new deals through the FTA utilisation strategy; the advice they need through the export support service; and the financial backing they need through UK Export Finance. My hon. Friend also made the very powerful point that companies that export pay higher wages.