Welcoming the release of official figures which show that Scotland’s manufactured exports grew by 2.8% in the second quarter of 2014, Liz Cameron, Director/Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:

“This latest increase in manufactured exports shows that Scotland’s manufacturing businesses have been competing well in the global marketplace and are succeeding.  This reflects the positive indications which we have been picking up from the sector throughout this year and shows that high levels of confidence are being justified by solid results.

“What these figures do not show is the performance of our services sectors, which account for 36% of our international exports, who also have a positive story to tell about growth in 2014.

“Of course there will be challenges ahead.  The International Monetary Fund remains concerned about growth prospects in key international markets, including the Eurozone, which accounts for around 45% of our international exports of goods and services.  This underlines the need to think globally in terms of exports and is a reminder of the need to develop business to business connectivity when supporting internationalisation.”