Summary by Peter Edwards
It was great to see so many of our members attending our event on 30th November and so good to be able to meet face to face again, it seemed as though everyone welcomed the opportunity to meet again in person. Thank you all for your contributions during the meeting, we found it really valuable to hear your views on the current economic situation and how you are finding business at the moment, we hope you found the event to be useful and insightful.
From the businesses who attended the following sectors were discussed. Aerospace, Automotive, Construction, Repair and Maintenance, Nuclear, Energy, Mining & Extraction and General Fabrication.
General View.
- The mood amongst our members was generally positive and all businesses were reporting good levels of turnover in 2022 with some even reporting record years.
- Some overseas markets have been performing extremely well for the members during the year including Turkey, USA, Canada, SE Asia, Far East and Middle East. There were also specific markets where members had found success over the last year, these included markets such Australia, Sweden, Ireland and Greece.
- Brexit, Covid and Ukraine were all reported to have caused difficulties and disruption to trading. Difficulties with the EU market still persist and it was reported that there was a perception in the EU that doing business with the UK was difficult.
- Issues with supply chain disruption, increased Raw material costs and increased energy costs are all concerns for members and all reported ongoing HR, skills and recruitment issues. This uncertainty and lack of confidence in what the future holds has, in some cases, had an impact on future capital expenditure plans.
- There was an overall impression that due to recent circumstances, researching new markets had not been top priority for the last two years but in general people were now feeling this aspect of the business requires more attention.
- We have identified target markets for 2023.
- Singapore and S.E Asia
- Gulf States
- Turkey, Czechia, Poland
- Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden.
- All the markets have shown strong growth for UK exports in 2022. (see attached slides)
If there are any specific overseas markets would you like us to consider, please get in touch.
We always welcome your feedback on any aspect of business and trading, so please do not hesitate to contact me with any issues, concerns or opportunities you wish to share.
Peter Edwards, Chief Executive
Mobile: +44 (0) 7778 460 497
Email: p.edwards@intradeforum.co.uk
