Insider Media Limited

Small and medium sized businesses in the East Midlands should not only be targeting the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, but also looking to export into Europe. That was the message from George Cowcher, chief executive of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, at an Insider round table event held this week.

Cowcher said: “There seems to be a big concentration on the BRIC countries, and that means ignoring Europe. In my opinion that’s where SMEs want to export their products and services.

“The difficulty is that there are not enough companies exporting. Our latest survey showed that 70 per cent of the companies in the region don’t see trading overseas as a priority or simply something they don’t want to do. But trading with Europe is vitally important, and we seem to have lost the competence to do that. People haven’t looked at the global economy during the downturn and have retreated back in on themselves.”

The event, held at the Hotel du Vin in Birmingham, looked at the emerging markets, the risks involved, and how Midlands companies could take advantage of them. While stressing the importance of trading with Europe, Cowcher admitted that the Far East is where the big contracts are, although he said that preparation was key to success.

“I always stress preparation. If you’re dealing with the Far East discussions might take longer, so you should always ready to be patient. It’s a great barrier for small companies.

"There is a view that working in these countries is expensive and that the risks are unacceptable, but that’s where the partnerships with financial backers come in. I think Europe is the first best step for SMEs, but obviously there are greater prizes in the Far East,” he added.