AST in The Press (York) published 8 April 2015

EASTERN Europe and Turkey offers a myriad of opportunities for businesses in North Yorkshire looking to trade beyond the main EU markets of Germany, France and Italy according to export experts.

The seventh Export Network event was organised as part of the We are International campaign by the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, which covers York, in partnership with international trade specialists Chamber International, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Yorkshire, Enterprise Europe Network and MY Export Hub. Delegates at the event, held in Leeds, heard how Eastern European economies are catching up with the rest of the EU and believe that trade with the UK can be a stepping stone to greater prosperity, while Turkey is seeking opportunities to build its own its own blue-chip global businesses.

One of the attendees at the event was Victoria Bowater, International Business Development Executive at Thirsk-based steel specialist All Steels Trading. She said: "About ten per cent of our current turnover is exports but we’re looking to increase this significantly in the years ahead and were interested in what this event had to offer.

"Our current export markets are Ireland, mainland Europe and Scandinavia. We are looking to double our export business during the next two to three years by looking at markets throughout the rest of the world, taking export sales to around £10 million.

“The Export Network event was very useful in making new contacts, which will hopefully lead to our business entering new markets."

The event featured talks from the chief executive of British Romanian Chamber of Commerce, the director of British Polish Chamber of Commerce, and the chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey.