Majority of SMEs believe exporting is important to the economy

The government is being urged to offer more support for the UK’s ambitious and aspiring small exporters.

With the majority (9 in 10) smaller sized businesses believing that exporting is important to the UK economy and over a third of small exporters seeking international opportunities, this is most definitely an area that needs focusing on.

According to research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), ‘small firms have a strong appetite for international trade despite rising costs, new customs and product safety requirements and potential changes from the US election’.

The FSB’s Ready to Dispatch report is calling on the government to commit to trade export support policy that fits small businesses, as well as streamlining export support access, as small firms await the Trade Strategy and Small Business Command Paper, scheduled to be published in Spring 2025.

FSB Policy Chair Tina McKenzie, said, “The UK’s aspiration to become an export-led economy can’t turn into a reality without small businesses, which account for the majority of UK exporters.

“While larger businesses have the resources and bandwidth to overcome trade barriers, small firms often don’t have a dedicated team that they can lean on to navigate international markets. That’s why government resources, such as signposting, guidance and helplines, are so important to them.”

Tina added, “There are a number of government export support programmes on offer. While it’s disheartening to see the level of SME knowledge and engagement with these resources isn’t as high as we would like it to be, this also highlights the tremendous opportunities these support services could bring to small exporters, if awareness building and delivery of support are done right.

“Against the backdrop of rising costs, new customs and product safety requirements and potential changes deriving from the US election, our members still show an undeniable zeal for international trade. The forthcoming Trade Strategy and Small Business Command Paper must keep this fire in small firms alight.

“Prior to this report, we’ve also flagged regulatory barriers facing UK small exporters through the FSB-led SME Export Task Force last summer, as tasked by the now Secretary of State for Business and Trade.

“The new Government is clearly intervening in the economy on domestic fiscal policy to empower and shelter small businesses, and our measures set out suggestions for how to apply this across trade policy.”

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