The gap between the value of UK exports and imports has widened as British businesses lose out to overseas competitors.

The gap between the value of UK exports and imports has widened as British businesses lose out to overseas competitors.

Some £4.9 billion more goods and services were imported from abroad than sold to overseas customers in July, up from £3.9 billion in June.

Export volumes fell 0.3 per cent and imports were up 2.5 per cent over the month, after adjusting for seasonal variations and erratic items such as oil.

Iain MacDonald, head of trade product at Barclays Corporate, says the widening of the UK’s trade deficit shows how difficult it is to translate signs of improvement in the manufacturing sector into sustained export growth.

He adds, ‘UK exporters now need to be looking for opportunities to diversify their export activities and re-establish strong trading links with high growth, emerging economies and markets such as Latin America and Africa, to help offset lower demand from traditional, Western European markets which are experiencing lower growth rates.’

The £4.9 billion trade gap is made up of a £8.7 billion deficit in goods and a £3.8 billion surplus in services.