NORTH REACTION: The arrival of the euro presents a business opportunity for the North, regardless of the political arguments for or against it, according to the new chairman of one of Northern Ireland's largest industry bodies.

Dr Ian McMorris, chairman of the Confederation of British Industry in the North, believes "euro creep" will be more of a factor in Northern Ireland than in any other region of the United Kingdom - and that companies must address the issue.

"Global developments are increasingly important, as they impact on the size of the markets Northern Ireland sells into. Northern Ireland needs to be internationally competitive if we are to gain our fair market share," said Dr Morris, also managing director of Ulster Weavers Home Fashions.

According to a recent report from the University of Ulster, businesses in the North believe the arrival of the new single currency will make it more difficult for them to compete on price with their competitors in the South. The survey also revealed that euro awareness in the North among small- to medium-sized companies was poor and in some instances virtually non-existent.

According to Dr Alan McClure, president of the Derry Chamber of Commerce, any business ignoring the euro's arrival may be inviting trouble. "Dealing with the euro is not like dealing with the Irish pound. Dealing with the euro offers a unique insight into the potential for an integrated euro zone.

"Understanding the euro offers companies in the North an opportunity to buy more competitively, to create new and slimmer supply chains and to become more competitive than they have been in the past," Dr McClure said.

But he also warns that the single currency is not going to deliver a panacea of transparency, equality or opportunity. "For my member companies, dealing with the Irish pound has been difficult. Dealing with the euro will be no easier.What we will see from January will not be retail price transparency, but supply chain transparency," Dr McClure has warned.

Some firms in Northern Ireland are already enjoying early benefits from the euro, according to Mr David Shaw, vice-chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses in the North.

"What our members have found is that the euro has opened up a new trade route for them. Instead of bringing goods and services into Northern Ireland via Britain, they are now going to bring these in via the South because of the currency advantages. Small firms who were 'virtually trading' last year are well prepared for the euro and its implications, and what they are enjoying now is the advantage of sourcing goods and services in the euro zone because of the greater price transparency," he said.