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“WE ARE GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS RECESSION BY TRADING OUR WAY OUT, BY BUSINESSES DECIDING TO CREATE WEALTH AND TO GO AFTER NEW MARKETS, TO EXPORT” PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON
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...Continued from page 14) Vince Cable in advance of the UK Government’s high-profile visit to China last November.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, is now the UK’s ninth-largest export market. In the first eight months of 2010, UK exports to China shot up by 44 per cent, making the export market there worth a staggering £4.5bn. This is an even more impressive figure when you take into account that overall export activity leveled off in the first few months of 2010, refl ecting a softening in global demand for goods and services.
With a population of more than 1.3bn and a fast-growing middle class, China is seen as a huge emerging market for luxury goods, including food and wine. Whisky exports, for example, have grown from £1m in 2001 to some £80m in 2009.
A deal struck between the UK and China, whereby the Chinese agreed to recognise Scotch Whisky as whisky produced in Scotland, is expected to increase sales by 100 per cent in the next four to five years, making the Chinese whisky market worth tens of millions of pounds a year. Overall, the Chinese spirits market, which generated total revenues of $8.6bn in 2008, is expected to reach $11bn by 2013.
The clean energy and environmental services sector is another attractive market for UK exporters to China, whose rapid economic growth and urbanisation is coming with a hefty environmental price tag.
Today, China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible for more than 20 per cent of annual CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. However, China is also the world’s biggest investor in green goods and services. In 2009, China’s investment in clean energy totaled nearly $35bn, the highest in the world.
This is good news for UK companies operating in the low-carbon field. The UK is already the world’s sixth-largest environmental goods and services market and low carbon activity will enjoy strong growth rates over the next five years.
As a result, UK Trade & Investment says export opportunities will cross all sectors, with specific areas of growth including carbon consultancy in terms of management and measurement, construction, ultra-low carbon vehicle technologies, carbon capture and storage, nuclear energy and offshore wind. China is now the UK’s largest export market for low-carbon goods, accounting for £1.3bn, or 12 per cent, of the UK’s total green exports.
Of course, global warming is exactly that – a global challenge – and so the opportunities for green exporters extend far beyond the shores of China. Broadly speaking, the environmental goods and services industry is worth £3.5tn globally. The UK’s share of this is 3.5 per cent – or to put it in financial terms, £106bn. The country exports around 10 per cent of these goods. Every 0.1 per cent added to the UK’s global market share of green goods equates to £3bn of growth for the domestic economy.
Following an initial post-election delegation to India, during which he articulated a clear Government direction towards supporting SMEs in overseas trade, Prime Minister David Cameron has responded to the need to boost the nation’s exports and tap into new markets with ongoing State visits and new foreign policy pledges. This includes the unveiling of a plan to double UK trade with Turkey over the next five years and to establish stronger business ties with India.
Whether it’s selling wind farm technology or whisky, according to the Prime Minister the UK’s objective has never been clearer. Putting it in simple terms, he commented: “We are going to get out of this recession by trading our way out, by businesses deciding to create wealth and to go after new markets, to export.”
CHINA ACCOUNTS FOR £1.3bn OF THE UK’S TOTAL GREEN EXPORTS
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