UK exports grow despite disruption from Brexit

The UK had its best year ever in terms of exports with growth year-on-year of £18.5 billion in goods and services. Official figures released by the ONS (Office for National Statistics), revealed a large increase for the 2017-2018 year despite uncertainty around the UK’s departure from the European Union.

The growth in exports was also faster than the EU average providing a positive boost to industry despite gloom and doom predictions for trade. With UK manufacturing expanding at a record pace in the last financial year, and growing overseas potential in markets such as the United States, India, Japan and China, there’s room for optimism that the UK’s export growth can continue despite Brexit.

For the year ending March 2018, the UK saw £620bn of exports with India being the fastest growing market for British goods and services. Non-EU countries saw a majority of the growth, with more than 60% of all service exports taking place outside the European Union.

Can Britain promote global free trade after it leaves the European Union that will benefit exports going into 2020?