UK exports reach record highs

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the new figures “cement the UK’s position as a global services superpower”.

The trade data shows that UK services exports reached record highs in 2022, totalling £397 billion — an increase of 20 per cent compared to 2021 and up 23 per cent on exports in 2018.

The UK is the second-biggest services exporter in the world — behind only the US, and the services sector contributes around 80 per cent of the UK’s GDP.

The results show the UK is contributing to a growing global sector, with service sectors across the world expected to account for 28 per cent of global trade by 2030 — up from 25 per cent in 2019.

“Services are the lifeblood of our economy, employing over eight in 10 of our workforce,” she said.

“To see services trade reaching these heights is a firm reminder of the resilience of our strong services economy and shows significant progress in our race to export over a trillion pounds of British goods and services a year by 2030.”

Ms Badenoch, who is currently in Mexico discussing a new bilateral trade deal, said the latest figures show the UK exports over £1 billion worth of services to Mexico, a 30 per cent increase in current prices on the previous year.

“A more modern, forward-looking ‘Mexico 2.0’ deal could boost this even further, unlocking export opportunities for SMEs and the UK’s digital and services industries,” she said.

“UK businesses who would benefit from modernised services rules between both countries range from British bank HSBC, currently the fifth-largest bank in Mexico, to Pearson Education, whose products and services include world-renowned academic qualifications, digital content, assessments and data.”