HOW Mid Sussex businesses benefit from trading internationally has been highlighted in a new report.

The study looked at companies who trade internationally in the seven local authorities in the Gatwick Diamond region, including Mid Sussex.

It found them to be more export-focussed – with the proportion of businesses in the region sending goods to international markets 50 per cent greater than for the UK as a whole.

Some £7.5 billion of international goods passed through Gatwick in 2017 in trade that supported 113,800 UK jobs - according to the most detailed analysis of its kind into the airport’s influence on trade and investment published by Oxford Economics.

Metals/ metal parts (£2 billion) and vehicles/ vehicle parts (£1.7 billion) were the two biggest goods categories traded through the airport, followed by electronics (£773 million), machinery (£682 million) and pharmaceuticals (£588 million).

Over two thirds – or £5.3 billion (61000 tonnes) - of this airfreight was exported and £2.2 billion (35600 tonnes) was imported. Gatwick’s total cargo tonnage is also up +20.4% this year, compared to last.

The seven local authorities in the Gatwick Diamond are Epsom and Ewell, Reigate and Banstead, Horsham, Tandridge, Crawley, Mole Valley and Mid Sussex.

With Brexit in mind, over eleven (11.3%) per cent of Gatwick Diamond businesses exported goods compared to the UK average (7.2%).

Local businesses are also well positioned for global trade - with 60% of the Diamond’s exports going to non-European markets - again more than national average (51%).