SCOTTISH manufactured export volumes jumped by 2.5% quarter-on-quarter in the opening three months of this year, as the food and drink industry enjoyed success in overseas market-places, official figures show.
The figures, published yesterday by the Scottish Government, show the 2.5% advance was achieved in spite of a 12.2% quarter-on-quarter fall in exports in the electrical and instrument engineering sub-sector, which includes the key electronics industry, and an 11.2% drop in overseas sales in the transport equipment category.
Food exports rose by 3% quarter-on-quarter in the opening three months of this year, the seasonally-adjusted figures show. Drink exports jumped 3.4%, signalling another strong showing by the Scotch whisky industry.
The refined petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical products sub-sector also turned in a strong performance in the opening three months of this year, with a 19% quarter-on-quarter leap in exports. This followed sharp declines in the preceding two quarters.
Scottish manufactured exports, even though they were up sharply in the first quarter, were 1.4% lower in the year to March 31 than in the preceding 12 months.
They fell by 0.4% and 2.3% respectively during the second and third quarters of last year.
The tumble in electrical and instrument engineering exports in the first three months of 2013 followed sharp rises in the preceding two quarters. Comparing the year to March 31 with the preceding 12 months, electrical and instrument engineering exports were up 0.2%.
However, on this 12-month-on-12-month comparison, transport equipment exports were down 10.9%.
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