Scotland's manufactured exports have fallen in line with the global slowdown, it was revealed today.

Scotland's manufactured exports have fallen in line with the global slowdown, it was revealed today.

They fell by 1% in the third quarter of last year, official figures showed.

That fall followed a standstill period in the preceding quarter.

The figure also represented a 0.4% decrease over the year so far.

But the picture varied considerably between industries.

Food, drink, and tobacco saw a 7% quarterly rise while chemicals, coke, refined petrol and nuclear fuel went up 9%.

But engineering fell by 6.2% and wood, paper, publishing and printing fell by 3%.

CBI Scotland assistant director David Lonsdale said: "These latest figures are consistent with our own industrial survey which found that Scotland's export performance remained broadly flat or slightly down in the third quarter of 2008, after a period of sustained growth.

"However it is frustrating that, despite the sizeable depreciation of sterling over recent months, export volumes haven't been stronger.

"The competitiveness of Scots firms has received a fillip but many of our key export markets have stalled or are contracting which limits their appetite to buy from us."

Finance secretary John Swinney said that, despite the quarterly fall, the figures showed an increase compared with the third quarter of 2007.

"What these statistics underline is the importance of the Scottish Government's budget and economic recovery plan - focused on supporting jobs and businesses in Scotland - and working with all partners to maximise our economic opportunities during these difficult times."