The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis reveals continuing issues for companies grappling with both Brexit and coronavirus-related issues.
The ONS’s fortnightly economic indicators survey revealed that 15% of firms said demand for their exports had crumbled away, while 38% of exporters and 45% of importers were struggling under the weight of additional paperwork.
Home delivery firm ParcelHero says Brexit has created mounting challenges for export and import companies while, at home, the High Street is also struggling.
HUGE CHALLENGES
ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks, said: “UK importers continue to face huge challenges. According to the latest ONS economic figures, in the period March 8 to March 20, 44.8% of importers complained about the impact of additional paperwork created by Brexit; 38.5% said their costs had risen; 35.7% reported new customs tariffs had created significant challenges and 24.9% said they experienced disruption at UK borders.
“That’s a sorry picture of the realities of post-Brexit trading, with British exporters’ experiences mirroring this. 15.3% reported reduced demand for their products and services; 38.3% experienced problems because of the additional paperwork created by Brexit; 26.1% experienced rises in transport costs and over 20% reported challenges with increased customs duties.”
HIGH STREET
The delivery firm was also concerned about the state of the high street in the run up to the reopening of non-essential shops on April 12.
David Jinks said: “Facing such a grim outlook for overseas sales, many companies will be tempted to pull in their horns and concentrate on UK sales. However, the picture for domestic retailers and manufacturers appears almost equally gloomy.
“ONS figures reveal the percentage of UK businesses currently trading did rise gradually from 71% in January to 75% in March, but that’s significantly lower than the 84% of companies that were actively trading in mid-December 2020.
“Added to which, the amount Brits spent on their credit cards in the last week of March was only 88% of the pre-covid (February 2020) average and UK retail footfall for the week ending April 3 was just 51% of the equivalent week back in 2019, in those halcyon pre-covid days.
“Whether you look at exports or domestic sales, there’s no doubt the double whammy of Brexit and covid-19 continues to have a huge impact on British businesses of all sizes,” he said.
