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More than 70,000 tonnes of Jersey goods ranging from potatoes to seafood were sent off-island last year... How can the island boost trade even further?
Express explores the current export picture, and the Government's hopes for the future...
Services, including financial services and digital services, make up the majority of Jersey’s exports. In 2020, for example, financial services contributed around £1,800m to the economy, which is measured in 'GVA' (total Gross Value Added).
Goods exports are smaller in total value but play an important role in the wider economy and island identity. Around half of Jersey is farmland, of which nearly half is dedicated to growing Jersey Royals. 99% of this crop is exported at a total value of around £25m.
Pictured: Research by the Office for National Statistics shows that businesses who trade goods internationally are 70% more productive than those that do not.
Other leading goods, such as milk and seafood, are relatively large exports for the island but typically compete on quality rather than quantity in foreign markets.
Tourism is also categorised as an export, so is also considered as part of the ‘broader picture’ of Jersey’s offering.
An estimated 90% of goods exports from Jersey are sent, at least initially, to the UK.
Of the remaining 10%, the majority goes to the EU. Only around 1% of Jersey goods are exported directly to the rest of the world.
According to Customs data, in 2021 just over 17,000 consignments were sent to the UK, via both sea and air freight, with a total mass of 63,000 tonnes.
Pictured: Around 90% of goods exported from Jersey are sent to the UK.
In contrast, there were 25,000 consignments sent to non-UK destinations but only at a total mass of 8,300 tonnes.
This accounts for the significant weight of certain items (e.g. potatoes) heading to the UK and a large number of low-weight items being sent to non-UK destinations, predominantly France then Germany and Italy.
The Department for the Economy has penned a paper on what a future Export Strategy for Jersey could look like, and islanders have been invited to give their views.
In it, they also outline seven ‘broad work streams’ to help guide engagement over the next five months, during which time they will create a new Export Strategy with the aim of looking at exports "holistically" and "maximising their benefits" to the island.
“Businesses that export are typically more productive, pay higher wages and selling internationally unlocks larger economies of scale whilst reducing market dependency,” the report states.
“Jersey has a high-quality global reputation, and this premium identity should be further capitalised on for exports.”
The Green Paper states that certain key sectors, such as financial services and tourism, require a "bespoke approach" and already have "well-developed" Government support.
As such, the Government’s efforts in relation to a new Export Strategy will focus on growing and supporting other business services alongside goods exports.
Pictured: Tourism and financial services will not be the focus of the Export Strategy.
Within goods exports, they will focus on goods that genuinely originate or are substantially transformed in Jersey, rather than finished products that are imported, processed, and then transported onward and therefore derive less value both from and for the Island.
The report also states that a ‘collaborative approach’ across Government, Arm’s-Length Organisations, and State-Owned Entities is "essential".
Seven ‘export workstreams’ have been suggested, to help inform the Export Strategy:
Existing export data does not give a clear picture of the current scale, type, destination and value of Jersey’s exports.
The Green paper suggests enhancing data capture and working with the island’s exporters to gather this data to provide a better understanding of Jersey’s goods exports.
General information for those looking to start exporting is available from Jersey Business, but this is not actively promoted and receives less than 1% of the total Jersey Business website traffic.
Government propose to improve support for new exporters, potentially using existing advice available in the UK and beyond.
This workstream will look at ways of supporting existing or planned exporters with how best to ‘scale their ambition’.
Support could include international mentoring and training, export regulation advice or market feasibility research.
The Green paper highlights that Jersey has a couple of ‘well-known and well-established’ goods exporters that contribute to the island’s economy and play a role in Jersey’s international recognition.
Government proposes they could provide additional support to maximise the value of these exports by, for example, greater diversification or concentrating on higher-value export products.
This workstream will look at taking advantage of currently under-utilised freight capacity, as well as exploring the possibility of strengthening Jersey’s southern trade route.
With the impact of Brexit and the world emerging from the pandemic, this workstream will look at building a stronger international profile for Jersey and find the most beneficial outcomes from international trade agreements.
Lastly, the Green paper states this ‘broad workstream underpins all others’ and will ensure that the strategy and any actions are "sustainably focused", to position Jersey as a "world-leading green trading nation".
The Green Paper is the starting point for a public consultation on exports, which is open until 11 September.
It will be supported by a business survey and further research, and all input will be consolidated into recommended actions in the Export Strategy, which will be published at the end of 2022.
In the short term, the Department for the Economy highlights that Jersey businesses can apply for Government support for certain export-related activities through the Productivity Support Scheme (PSS).
The second round of the PSS launched in April 2022.
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