Trade between the Republic and Northern Ireland is “an oasis of calm” in an increasingly disruptive world that should be seized upon by businesses on both sides of the Border, companies have been told.
Companies thinking of exporting abroad should first sell across the island of Ireland, Professor Richard Ramsey of Queen’s University Belfast Business School told an InterTrade Ireland conference held in Dublin.
The lure of extra business deals on the other side of the Border in a market with the same language, similar regulations and benefiting from the European Union/United Kingdom has been heightened by global uncertainty, he went on.
Uncertainty is now “five times higher” than it was just a year ago, fuelled by US president Donald Trump’s pressure on long-independent US institutions, such as the Federal Reserve: “The scale of it is unprecedented,” Prof Ramsey declared.
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Colin McGabrey of InterTrade Ireland said the growth of cross-Border trade since the Belfast Agreement in 1998 continues uninterrupted, rising from €2 billion then to €15 billion last year.
This year, the growth continues. Food and beverage sales from the Republic to Northern Ireland have risen by 10 per cent in the first six months of the year, while sales in the other direction have risen by 23 per cent.
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Companies on InterTrade Ireland’s lists have successfully used the experience of selling across the island of Ireland before going on to sell in Britain, the United States, or elsewhere, he said.
Meanwhile, companies should first examine the opportunities that exist from public tenders in the Republic and Northern Ireland, Dave McClements of the consultancy, Core Growth told delegates.
Public tenders are now worth €25 billion annually, he said: “It’s the best way to get sales, it’s the best way to export. I can’t think of a quicker or cheaper way to have opportunities on your doorstep.”
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Such contracts can be explored by novice companies from “their desktops”, running on clearly laid out rules: “What a fantastic way to accelerate export with a relatively low investment in time, shoe leather, flights, everything,” he said.
However, companies must ensure that they are complaint with regulations on the other side of the Border “from the get-go”, said Mr McCabrey, who is Director of Trade with the Newry-based InterTrade Ireland.
“We had one construction company from Derry who won a contract in Donegal and then had never thought about the complications of employing people in the other jurisdiction,” he said.
“We’ve businesses coming for advice after they’ve already established a custom and practice that hasn’t been the right one. It takes nothing to have a conversation around just how we can help you get those basics right at the start,” he went on.
Meanwhile, companies were reminded that a €21,000 InterTrade grant will cover half of the cost of setting up a cross-Border sales operation. So far, the grant brings €225,000 worth of business to the companies qualifying for it.
“If you are a smaller business and you don’t necessarily want to employ someone yet, you can go part-time and bring in a consultant to help you shape that avenue of the business,” Mr McCabrey told delegates.
