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The future growth of exporters in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire could be hampered by problems in accessing trade finance.

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce says that firms have encountered severe difficulties when accessing the finance products that are essential to their businesses.

A new report* commissioned by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has found that one in eight businesses that have used export trade finance have experienced problems securing it over the last year, while nearly half of those who have faced problems say they have lost business to exporters from countries with state-backed export finance schemes.

The call for improved access to finance comes on the back of disappointing new export trade figures, which show that UK export sales suffered their sharpest drop in three years in January.

According to the Office for National Statistics**, Britain's trade deficit with the rest of the world widened unexpectedly in January after lower sales of chemicals and other commodities led a drop in exports. The trade gap in physical goods widened to £7.99bn, well above the £7bn forecast by analysts.

And the Chamber's last Quarterly Economic Survey found that export orders were down during the last three months of 2009, with firms involved in exporting only reporting a slight increase in order expectations for the first quarter of 2010.

George Cowcher, Chief Executive of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber and Chairman of the BCC's International Trade Group, said: "Trade finance underpins 90% of all the UK's global exports, yet unlike comparable trading nations such as Germany and the Netherlands, we don't have a state-backed scheme in this country to ensure that viable firms can secure the export credit they need to fulfil orders. This puts British exporters at an obvious disadvantage.
 
"Even though the worst of the downturn has passed, many exporters are still experiencing severe difficulties in securing essential finance and this must be resolved as a matter of priority.

"Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber has a dedicated International Trade department and is well placed to help businesses grow by offering practical exporting advice and support. However, the Government also needs to play its part by removing any unnecessary barriers to export finance."

* British Chambers of Commerce: Exporting Britain - Trade Finance 

** ONS: UK Trade (January 2010)