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Sunday, 5th September 2010You are in: Home > News > Ministers Warned Fall In Scottish Exports A Wake-Up Call
Ministers Warned Fall In Scottish Exports A Wake-Up Call
The fall in the value of Scottish manufactured exports in the fourth quarter of last year should be seen as a wake up call according to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
Speaking after the release of the figures which showed that Scottish export sales fell by 2% in real terms during the last three months of 2007, Liz Cameron, chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said the fall in exports was a "wake-up" call for ministers.
Liz Cameron said:
"Whilst annual export growth in 2007 remains at a healthy level, the signals for the current year are not good, and government must do all it can to ease the pressures on Scottish businesses���
She added that Scottish businesses were facing "unprecedented high transportation costs" and that the Westminster government should lower fuel duty.
However the fall in total exports in the second half were not sufficient to wipe out the gains recorded in the first half of 2007 which saw manufactured exports increase by 4.483% in the three months to June. This success helped Scotland enjoy a period of above trend growth.
Comparing the four quarters to the end of 2007 with the four quarters to the end of 2006, exports increased by 3%.
Iain McMillan, director of CBI Scotland, said:
"The dip in the final quarter highlights the fragility of the recovery in Scotland's export performance over the last couple of years."
Meanwhile the Scottish Government responded by saying that mixed export figures demonstrate the need to make Scotland more competitive.
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth said:
"These statistics show a mixed picture of growth through 2007 - but a dip in the final quarter.
"Although short term trends like this are always likely to be volatile, the decrease in exports may point to the downturn in global economic conditions which began to take effect in the latter half of 2007.
"No country can isolate itself from the prevailing global economic conditions. But what we can do is act to make Scotland more competitive - which is exactly what this government is doing.
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