The UK exported over £1.5 billion of goods and services to Chile in 2013, and is the country’s sixth largest foreign investor. And despite Chile having a relatively small population – its 17.95 million inhabitants make it the sixth most populated country in South America – it is the UK’s second largest export destination on that continent.
Category: <span>Around the world</span>
Canada has many cultural, historic, and linguistic links with the UK, and it is the UK’s 16th largest export market for goods.
The UK is Canada’s sixth largest source of goods imports and second largest services trading partner, and the latest export figures show UK goods and service exports to Canada were worth £7.5 billion in 2013.
Ever since the 51.9% voted for the UK to leave the EU back in June last year, there’s been a lot of conjecture on what the split will mean for trade – many of those who voted leave are sure the nation is in a stronger position now it can arrange its own trade deals with countries outside of the EU, such as India, New Zealand and Australia.
On the other hand, those in the remain camp find it difficult to see the logic in sorting expensive trade deals with countries halfway around the world when there’s so many willing customers right on our doorstep.
And while there are reasonable arguments from both camps, it’s worth looking at who are currently the UK’s main trading partners…
It seems Bulgaria is a good place to do business – A T Kearny, the global management consultant firm, ranks ninth in the world and number one in Europe as an outsourcing destination, the World Bank put it a 38 for ease of doing business, while Bloomberg places it as the sixth best country for doing business.
If your looking to extend your operation across Europe, Bulgaria could be the ideal destination, so here’s all you need to know about exporting to Bulgaria.
Brazil is the biggest economy in Latin America, with larger states such as São Paulo having a bigger economy than neighboring nationArgentina. Brazil is also the world’s seventh biggest economy with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 2.3 trillion.
The UK and Brazil have a burgeoning trading relationship in place – UK goods exports to Brazil more than doubled in the decade between 2002 and 2012, and services exports increased by 59% in the five years between 2009 and 2014. And even though overall imports to Brazil dropped by 14.3% in 2015, the number of UK goods exported to the country only fell by 5%.
If you’re thinking of exporting to Brazil, the top UK exports include:
- Chemical products (mainly fungicides)
- Electrical appliances
- Machinery
- Pharmaceuticals
- Vehicles
If Brazil looks like a good opportunity for your business, here’s all you need to know about exporting there…
Located at the heart of the Balkan peninsula in south east Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a middle income country with a small population of just under 4 million. The country split from Yugoslavia in 1992, but the war in the region didn’t end until three years later with the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
2015 saw UK exports to Bosnia and Herzegovina reach the £59 million mark, up almost two-thirds (63%) on 2014, and the top UK exports are:
- Industrial lubrication, motor oil and mineral fuels,
- Plastic products and components of plastic materials
- Pharmaceutical products
- Machines and mechanical components for machinery
- Electrical machinery and equipment
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application to join the EU is still under review, even so, there are several benefits for UK businesses exporting there, including:
- access to a market of 60 million people through Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)
- in receipt of EU pre-accession funds (IPA) and funding from international financial institutions
- preferential export regimes with a number of markets
- import-dependent economy
So if the Balkan nation looks like a good business opportunity, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Bosnia and Herzegovina…
Belgium is an affluent and multicultural nation with an open market that offers opportunities to businesses in most sectors. There are over 1,000 public and private international organisations with headquarters in Belgium, including some big-name UK businesses such as BP, BT and Shell.
Belgium is the UK’s eighth largest export market – worth £12.5 billion in 2014 – and the top exports to Belgium include:
- chemical products
- medical products
- automotive equipment
- diamonds
The Belgian economy is growing at a rate of about 1% each year, and the country’as top priority sectors for economic development include:
- biotechnology
- agri-food sector
- environmental technology
- pharmaceutical sector
- information communications technology (ICT)
- transport and logistics
If you think this looks like a good opportunity for your business, here’s all you need to know about exporting to Belgium…
Bahrain is one of the most important economic partners and bases for UK companies in the Gulf and the two nations have always had a very strong bilateral commercial relationship.
It can be notoriously difficult to do business in certain areas of the Middle East but Bahrain is relatively relaxed, having the freest economy in the area and the most liberalised in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Bahrain is one of the UK’s largest export markets in the GCC and the UK exported £295.5 million in goods to Bahrain in 2014, up 9% on 2013. The total value of bilateral trade in 2014 was also up from 2013, it rose by 2% to £451.4 million.
Around 100 UK companies have set up base in Bahrain as the country is a major trading hub and financial centre in the region, with one of the most open economies and a liberal tax regime.
Austria is a relatively small nation with a population of just 8.5 million – the big plus point from a trade point-of-view is that, being located right in the centre of Europe, it has over 48 million people within a 400km radius of Vienna, its capital city, which means exporting to Austria will put your products and services within reach of a lot of potential customers.
It’s also one of the wealthiest nations in Europe, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head of €33,200 compared with a European Union (EU) average of €25,700. Austria’s high standard of living and relatively low living costs results in high non-essential disposable income.
If you want to take advantage of this, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Austria…
Argentina is the second biggest economy in South America, and there are currently more than 100 UK companies operating out there, ranging from SMEs to FTSE 100 companies such as BT, HSBC and Unilever.
If you’re thinking of doing business in South America, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Argentina…