The survey of more than 2,300 exporting firms has revealed that 46% of manufacturers reported increased export orders in Q1, compared to 36% in Q4 2014. Meanwhile, the proportion of service firms that recorded increased export sales remained steady at 33%.
Furthermore, almost half of exporting manufacturers surveyed (44%) increased their labour force in the first three months of 2015. The vast majority of these new jobs were full-time positions (84%), up from 61% in Q4 2014.
This level of growth has been achieved in the face of increasing pressure from higher exchange rates in particular the rising pound against the euro, which reached a seven-year high in early March 2015. More than half of manufacturing firms surveyed (55%) said that exchange rates are having an impact on their ability to trade globally, compared to 48% in Q4 2014 and 34% at the same time last year.
BCC director general John Longworth (pictured) said: "Manufacturers are turning to export markets abroad to fuel their growth ambitions as the slowdown in domestic growth persists. Encouragingly, the increase in export sales and orders has come about in spite of the rise in the pound against the euro over recent months - a credit to the strength and expertise of the UK's manufacturing sector."
He added: "Despite these positive figures, real progress towards eliminating the UK's trade deficit remains elusive. At the heart of the new government's agenda must be ambitious plans to improve the UK's trade performance – we have to develop a pipeline of new exporters and help existing exporters break into new markets. Only then will the UK regain its position as a trading powerhouse and unlock future economic growth."
