Firms that begin to export boost their business productivity by up to a third in the first year and are more likely to stay in business as a result, according to new research by UK Trade & Investment.
What's more, some 60 per cent of UK productivity growth during the period 1996-2004 was attributable to exporting firms.
The report, "Firm Level Empirical Study of the Contribution of Exporting to UK Productivity Growth", found that firms that are new to exporting on average experience a 34 per cent increase in productivity in the year of entry and are 11 per cent more likely to survive if they exported.
Foreign-owned companies operating in the UK also enjoy higher levels of productivity and foreign owned subsidiaries were almost 12 per cent less likely to close, than UK-owned firms.