Welsh goods exports spurred by state-of-the-art manufacturing infrastructure

• Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, will visit Cardiff to attend a Finance Ministers quadrilateral meeting

• Liz Truss will also visit 3D printing facility to showcase innovation in UK manufacturing

On a visit to Wales today (15 February 2019), the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss will attend a Finance Ministers Quadrilateral meeting in Cardiff.

The Chief Secretary will also visit a local engineering company to champion the innovation of UK manufacturing firms in boosting economic growth and productivity, as well as rising exports from the region.

At Renishaw, a global precision engineering and manufacturing company, the Chief Secretary will highlight the pioneering techniques of advanced manufacturing and 3D printing in revolutionising sectors from aviation to health tech.

This success comes alongside rising demand for Welsh goods abroad, with latest figures showing Welsh goods exports were worth £16.5 billion in 2017, a rise of 12% compared to the previous year. UK Export Finance has supported Welsh exporters by giving £7.5 million in 2017-18 to unlock over £64m of overseas sales.

In addition to export success, further roll-out of fibre broadband to Wales was announced last month. The government’s Superfast Broadband programme has already delivered superfast broadband to 95% of Welsh premises, with a plan to roll out to 26,000 more.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss said:

Wales is demonstrating the UK’s strong record for goods exports with a 12% increase in 2017. This is not surprising with the leading innovation that we see in manufacturing and digital infrastructure.

We need to ensure that our digital infrastructure carries on developing to continue our economic growth for everyone in the UK.