Scottish manufactured export sales grew 3% during Q1 2014, according to official figures.
The figures also reveal that export volumes increase 2.4% between Q1 2013 and Q1 2014.
The biggest contributors to the growth were the refined petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical products, and the food and drink.
These 2 sectors account for nearly half of Scotland’s international manufactured exports.
Key figures:
- petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical exports expanded by 12.5% in Q1 2014
- food and drink exports rose 1.6% during the quarter
- export growth was also recorded in the mechanical engineering and transport sectors.
Finance Minister John Swinney said:
“These figures reinforce the belief that recovery is being felt across most industries, and follows on from recent GDP figures, which show that the Scottish economy is now past its pre-recession peak with GDP growing by one per cent in the first quarter of 2014, faster than the UK as a whole.”
Anne MacColl, chief executive of Scottish Development International, said:
“Exporting is one of the main routes to growth, so it’s great to see that manufactured exports are on the rise.
“We are absolutely focused on growing the number of Scottish exporters and putting in place the support to help companies to achieve their first international orders.”
