A new study suggests that many UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) begun shying away from international trade last year.
According to WorldFirst’s latest Global Trade Barometer, the number of SMEs trading internationally in 2017 was down by 26 per cent on figures recorded the previous year.
WorldFirst’s report reveals that while 52 per cent of UK SMEs were exporting and importing in 2016, this fell to just 26 per cent last year – suggesting that some 800,000 small British businesses had ceased trading on a cross-border basis.
Jeremy Cook, at WorldFirst, said that “a year of Sterling fluctuation, inflation fears and obfuscation around the Government’s Brexit negotiations” had weighed heavily on SMEs’ appetite to trade throughout the year.
However, he indicated that the Barometer had also found that SME confidence rose significantly in the final quarter (Q4) of 2017.
The figures also suggest that towards the end of the year, SMEs were beginning to feel a little more optimistic about their growth prospects – and international trade was coming back into focus.
“The pound is stronger than it’s been since the referendum and many SMEs may finally have plans in place for a post-Brexit world,” Mr Cook said.
“We can only hope this translates into businesses dusting themselves off and getting back to international trading in 2018.”