British exporters need to target new countries, reveals RBS study

The Latin American powerhouses of Mexico and Brazil and the Asian tiger of Taiwan are proving to be a ‘missed opportunity’ for British exporters, according to new research.

Economists at the RBS banking group have identified them as attractive relatively untapped markets for UK firms to get ahead in the global race.

Nearly a third of the UK's economy is made up by exports, and yet most still tend to concentrate their efforts in Europe or America.

RBS studied nearly 50 export markets. Each destination's attractiveness was determined by compatibility (matching import needs to UK exports), growth, prosperity, and the ease of exporting, in addition to the size of each import market. These countries combined made up less than a quarter of all UK goods exported in 2012.

David Fenton, senior economist at RBS said: 'It's clear there are export opportunities which British businesses aren't fully taking advantage of. While the outlook is currently subdued in key export markets like Europe and the US, success will increasingly rest on less-indebted, faster-growing parts of the world.