Exports are crucial to boosting the Welsh economy

Exported goods and services make up around 37.1% of Welsh GDP

Bookmark
Share

Rebecca Evans

05:00, 12 MAR 2025

Ahead of Wales’ largest export conferences – Explore Export Wales - in Cardiff tomorrow and Llandudno next Thursday Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans, lays out her vision for driving growth of exports across the Welsh SME landscape, supporting improved productivity and economic growth.

A healthy economy is an exporting economy. And there’s no doubt that exporting is crucial to the Welsh economy. Welsh goods and services exports make up around 37.1% of our GDP, that’s higher than England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, where goods and services exports make up 30.4%, 34.5% and 31.4% respectively.

And when it comes to exporting, research shows us that businesses that export achieve higher productivity levels than those that don’t. In fact, we know that businesses that export goods are around 21% more productive than businesses that record no international goods trade. It’s statistics like this that underline just how crucial our exporters are as a key driver of sustainable economic growth.

No doubt you’ve been reading and hearing a lot about productivity of late. It’s a constant drumbeat across the political and media spectrum. And there’s a reason for that.

The wider ��Ƶ’s relatively low economic growth in recent years is partly due to slower productivity growth compared to the pre-global financial crisis period. Wales is a part of this picture, with lower productivity levels contributing to lower economic output per head than the ��Ƶ average.

There are many policy and economic levers that can be pulled to help address the complex productivity problem, and encouraging and supporting an export mindset among SMEs is an important part of that mix.

Participating in the global marketplace can improve a business’ productivity levels - and there are many Welsh businesses which will attest to this. Take for example Welshpool based Zip-Clip, a designer and manufacturer of high-spec wire suspension and bracing solutions for building and infrastructure projects. The company exports to over forty countries around the world, with exports accounting for 50% of turnover; forthcoming landmark deals are expected to take this figure to 70% by 2026.

Zip-Clip chief executive, Steve Goldsworthy, firmly believes that exporting has made the company more competitive, innovative and ultimately far more productive. He also credits the Welsh Government export support that the business has received since 2009 for a significant proportion of the company’s success.

Zip-Clip is a homegrown export success story, as are thousands more Welsh exporters that are competing and succeeding in markets across the world, benefiting the business and the wider Welsh economy.

It is vital, therefore, that the Welsh Government maintains a focus on supporting businesses to grow their exports, as set out in our Export Action Plan for Wales. As part of this ongoing work, the Welsh Government, along with the wider export ecosystem of support, will assemble over two days this month, in both south and north Wales, for Explore Export Wales 2025, our annual flagship export events for Wales-based businesses.

Tomorrow the first event will take place at Cardiff City Stadium, and next Thursday (20th March), the second event will be held at Venue Cymru in Llandudno. I am looking forward to attending both.

Explore Export Wales has been designed to inform and support Welsh businesses wherever they are on their export journey. You may be an established exporter looking to scale internationally, or you could be entirely new to exporting.

By attending you can learn from businesses that have been there and done it, and which will be sharing the many lessons they have learned along the way.

Businesses that attend the event can also book one-to-ones with overseas market representatives covering over 40 markets, including Australia, China, Japan, UAE and the USA to explore export opportunities. And for the very first time this year we will have the US Embassy joining us to share information and insights on doing business in the US.

Also featuring at Explore Export Wales will be an exhibition showcasing organisations from across the Welsh export ecosystem; as well as a series of workshops offering talks on topics such as pitching and presenting, export financing, VAT implications and more.

Every year, the Welsh Government delivers many trade missions to key markets across the globe. I was proud to lead and support Welsh businesses on a trade mission to leading medical trade fair, Medica. I have also spent time speaking with, and learning from, our exporters and I share their view that there is a world of opportunity out there. The Welsh Government will work with businesses to help them realise those opportunities.