Increasing sales from businesses in Northern Ireland to markets outside the region is one of the most effective ways to stimulate economic recovery and transform the Northern Ireland economy growth. Get support to export globally.

Go Further Grow Stronger

Northern Ireland’s 10X Vision sets out the ambition to harness trade opportunities outside Northern Ireland to create a more prosperous and competitive economy for all.

Your business can be part of that exciting transformation. By exploring the export opportunities and accessing the support available, your business can go further and grow stronger.

Why should I sell outside NI?

Last year, Northern Ireland businesses generated external sales of goods and services worth £24.9 billion globally. We export almost 30% of our services, with exports accounting for 8 – 10% of all our advanced manufacturing, construction, and production/agricultural export sales. Total external sales by companies in Northern Ireland were estimated to be worth £77.1 billion in 2021 an increase of 7.2% (£5.2 billion) from 2019. - NI Economics Trade Statistics, NISRA (2022)

Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland

For businesses looking to sell their product or service outside Northern Ireland for the first time, the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Great Britain (GB) are ideal markets to test the water and grow sales as well as your customer base. 

Northern Ireland businesses have generated £12.8 billion in sales to ROI and GB in 2021.

Americas

Comprising the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Americas has 13% of the world's population and offers immense export opportunities for Northern Ireland businesses in sectors such as Agri-Tech, Fintech, and Waste & Recycling. 

Export sales from Northern Ireland to the territory in 2021 totalled £1.6 billion. – NI Economics Trade Statistics, NISRA (2022)

Asia Pacific

A highly sought export market, in 2020 Asia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) overtook the combined total of the rest of the world and offer export opportunities in sectors including Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, Life and Health Sciences, and Technology.

Northern Ireland businesses exported to the scale of £894 million to Asia Pacific in 2021. – NI Economics Trade Statistics, NISRA (2022)

Europe

Europe forms the world's largest trading block with enormous import and export opportunities.

Companies have excelled in this market within the Technology, Life & Health Sciences, Materials Handling, and Aerospace sectors amongst others.

Exports from Northern Ireland businesses totalled £7.8 billion in 2021. - NI Economics Trade Statistics, NISRA (2022) 

India, Middle East and Africa

India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) have immense economic and commercial potential for Northern Ireland business, particularly for those working in Materials Handling, Food & Drink, and Life and Health Sciences. 

Local exports to the territory in 2021 were £459 million. - NI Economics Trade Statistics, NISRA (2022) 

As well as the potential benefits of increased sales and greater profits, targeting markets outside Northern Ireland can also:

  • Stimulate creativity & innovation in your business as you evolve your products or services to serve new markets;
  • Enhance your company brand & market positioning;
  • Enhance resilience and reduce the risk to your business by over reliance on one market;

Register for an export focused event:

Export Health Check

To take the next step in your exporting journey, complete our Export Health Check.

Complete our Export Health Check to assess your existing exporting capability. By answering a few short questions we will provide a tailored guide that will give you the tools to develop your own bespoke export strategy.

Export Health Check

Support is available for your business to find new export markets.

This tool will help you understand the importance of export and to quickly assess how prepared your business is to undertake export activities, whether you are exporting for the first time, or looking for a new export market.

It has a maximum of 11 questions and will take about 5 minutes to complete. At the end, we will email you a tailored report that will tell you:

  • where you are in your export journey;
  • what your next steps should be;
  • give you practical tips and templates; and
  • signpost you to what support is available.

So we can email you your tailored report, we will ask for your name, email address, and company name at the end of the process. Your results and recommended actions are completely confidential and will not be passed on to any third parties.

Please be honest and realistic in your answers, so your report is an accurate assessment of how your business is currently doing, and not how you would like your business to perform in the future.

Export Health Check

Answer the following questions to receive your export guide.

Q1 - Is your business based in Northern Ireland?
Q2 - Can your product or service be sold to customers outside Northern Ireland?
It is critical to understand any regulatory, compliance, and procedural issues that might affect your product or service in your target market.

A rule or regulation could stop you exporting, therefore it makes sense to find out before you spend any time or money exploring your export options.
Q3 - Are you currently selling outside of Northern Ireland?
Indicate which markets you are currently selling to
Q5 - What are your future exporting plans?
Q6 - Have you prepared a structured plan to grow your sales outside Northern Ireland?
Q7 - Market research is vital to growing sales outside Northern Ireland. Have you considered any of the following?
Tick all that apply:
Q8 - Do you have the skills in your business to target new sales outside Northern Ireland?
Exporting can be complex:
• Are your staff trained to understand transport logistics and the legal issues involved?
• Can your staff do business in another language?
• Do your staff understand how to do business in another currency?
Q9 - Do you have the necessary resources such as people, production capacity, finances and time to commit to growing sales outside Northern Ireland and to respond to additional demand for your product/service?
Could your business cope if you received a large export order?

How will you ensure you don’t neglect your current customers?
Q10 - Do you have the necessary funds to undertake export activity?
Exporting can be costly. You might have to increase production to meet demand, transport costs will increase and lead times for payment can be longer.

It’s important to know what you can afford and what extra funds you might need. You need to understand how much it will cost you to export.
Q11 - What areas of support would most help your business advance your export plans

Export Health Check

Support is available for your business to start selling outside Northern Ireland.

Complete this form and we will email you a link to download the guide on how to start selling outside Northern Ireland.

Export Health Check

Support is available for your business to find new export markets.

Complete this form and we will email you a link to download the guide on how to find new export markets.

Note: [*]denotes mandatory field

For information on how we use your personal data including your rights, see our privacy notice.

Export Health Check

Support is available for your business to find new export markets.

Our export guides are tailored for businesses based in Northern Ireland.

The UK Government’s Department for Business amd Trade offers a wide range of free export support. To find out more, visit great.gov.uk

The nibusinessinfo.co.uk help and support for exporting section has a range of support available to new and established businesses to help them start trading successfully outside Northern Ireland.

Export Health Check

Support is available for your business to find new export markets.

Our export guides are tailored for businesses which sell a product or service manufactured or developed in Northern Ireland.

You can explore the gov.uk export goods from the UK: step by step guidance for businesses.

The nibusinessinfo.co.uk help and support for exporting section has a range of support available to new and established businesses to help them start trading successfully outside Northern Ireland.

Available support

There is lots of support available to help you secure sales outside Northern Ireland.

Market research

Our Business Information Centre can provide free market and sector research reports and the Department of International Trade provides free Market Guides for UK businesses that are interested in selling overseas.

nibusinessinfo.co.uk

The nibusinessinfo.co.uk website provides detailed information and guides on selling outside Northern Ireland, both to neighbouring markets and further afield. These free guides cover topics such as choosing a market, procedures and licences and moving goods.

There are also resources to help businesses find funding and business-related training, workshops, networking, seminars and more from a range of stakeholders including councils, central government and the private sector to help you begin exporting.

International support and trade events

Invest Northern Ireland can provide hands-on support and mentoring for businesses wanting to sell outside Northern Ireland. We can support companies to participate in international trade events and our in-market teams can provide valuable insights and support to help you succeed in markets outside Northern Ireland.

Invest Northern Ireland may be subject to some eligibility criteria

The UK Export Academy

Delivered by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) the UK Export Academy is a free training programme, open to businesses that has a product or service that can be sold internationally and provides businesses with the expert know-how to sell to customers around the world.

Register for upcoming events.