Scotland could struggle to meet export targets because of “significant cuts” to the enterprise budget,Scottish Conservatives have warned. The party has asked the Scottish Government to do more to help boost exports from businesses. MSPs were debating a report on the impact of leaving the European Union on exports.
Holyrood’s Economy Committee has said that ”increased effort” is required to encourage firms to export both to Europe and beyond. They said businesses should be given more support to expand into emerging markets such as China and India. Tory MSP Dean Lockhart cited evidence to the committee that more than 50% of Scottish exports are generated by only 50 companies.
He said: “The concern was raised that we have a very low level of exports amongst our businesses, especially small and medium-sized business.
…. We must look to expand and diversify our export base in order to make the economy more competitive.”
He added:…..
“Scottish Enterprise have confirmed to the Economy Committee that over 120,000 new business are required in Scotland in order to meet export targets.