A courier service has issued stark warnings over the future of British exports, saying non-EU countries will not fill the hole created by Brexit.
Trade between the UK and EU partially recovered in February, after a steep drop in January following Brexit.
Official figures show exports to the EU jumped by 46.6 per cent, £3.7 billion, to £11.6 billion, following January’s 42 per cent slump when firms struggled with new trade rules.
However, the Office for National Statistics said exports were still below last year’s levels and imports from the EU had seen a weaker recovery.
Commenting on the figures, ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., said: “The trade figures for February, released this week, are extremely concerning.
“It is encouraging that British exports did struggle upwards in February compared to the previous month.
“However, that is setting the bar exceedingly low, given that January’s exports were, by far, the worst ever recorded.
“The £3.7 billion (46.6 per cent) monthly uptick in exports to the EU in February looks a positive headline figure, but keep in mind they had fallen by an eye-watering number in January.
“There’s still a lot of trade to claw back.”
Related: After 100 days of disruption, businesses fume that Brexit isn’t working
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
