A new business body should be established to encourage Scottish firms to export their wares, a former UK trade minister has said.
Chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides and UK business ambassador Brian Wilson said the present support system was too fragmented, and warned many firms did not know where to turn for guidance when they want to sell their goods abroad.
His proposals come as the Scottish Government tackles its aim of increasing the value of the country’s exports by 50% on 2011 levels to reach £33 billion by 2017.
Mr Wilson proposed the creation of a new collaboration, which he branded Scottish Exports, to provide a clear entry point for would-be international traders of all types.
The new ‘front door’ administered as a partnership between Scottish Development International, UK Trade and Investment and the private sector would guide companies to the most appropriate agency according to their needs, while avoiding duplication and “gaps for businesses to fall through”.
The former Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran also called for a designated finance section to be created, connecting companies to the best source of grants and assistance as appropriate and ensuring a named adviser to lead them through the entire process.
But Mr Wilson’s report also examined worries caused by the independence referendum warning of “great uncertainty” if Scotland was unable to use the pound, and adding that additional costs would be inevitable with the creation of an “international border” stretching from Carlisle to Berwick.
He also hailed the importance of “commercial diplomacy” through a global network of embassies and consulates, and called for better transport links and greater focus on skills shortages.
“Scotland has many great exporting companies,” Mr Wilson said. “We just don’t have enough of them, and this report puts forward practical proposals for ensuring that public support for potential and existing exporters is best delivered through a single, integrated effort.
“Scotland exports twice as much to the rest of the UK as to the rest of the world,” he said.
“We need to expand our reach, particularly into the rapidly developing markets of Asia and Africa, while safeguarding existing business relationships and supply chains.”
The Scottish secretary at the time, Michael Moore, asked Mr Wilson, a former trade and energy minister, to undertake a review after he was appointed a business ambassador for the UK Government in August 2012.
Its publication came just hours after Sir Tom Hunter warned of a pressing need for Scottish entrepreneurs to “close the gap” on rivals in North America.
Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said the UK Government would respond to Mr Wilson’s review in due course. Business support is devolved to Holyrood, but international trade policy and foreign affairs are reserved to Westminster.