THIS week, the government is launching its big drive to boost exports. Led by the Department for International Trade, this grasps global opportunities.

In the run-up to the referendum, Brexiteers proclaimed that the EU held back Britain’s ability to export. This could not be further from the truth. The reality was that Britain was the worst performing exporter in the EU when the value of our exports is compared to the value of our economy. At just 27 per cent, we lagged Greece (28 per cent) and countries like Luxembourg (around 250 per cent). A comparable economy, like Germany (at 48 per cent), showed that we should be doing much better.

Since the referendum brought driven slide in the value of the Pound, our exports have risen, but not by as much as we would have hoped. When the pound drops by 15 per cent to the Euro or Dollar, our products are 15 per cent cheaper on the global market. That either drives bigger sales volumes at the same price, or the same volumes at a higher profit margin, or a bit of both. Similarly, imports now cost 15 per cent more than they did, which both limits imports and drives import substitution – where it is now cost effective to produce that foreign produced item domestically instead of importing. Our export value is now around 30 per cent of our economy, but it should have risen more.

Doing my UK visits as a Trade Minister, I was struck by just how few businesses embraced exporting. The government’s challenge is an estimated 400,000 export-ready businesses who do not grasp the global markets. That is a tragic waste of opportunity.

So, the government is doing what it can to help businesses: by signposting opportunities and making introductions; by providing financing through UK Export Finance, delivered for the majority through your high-street bank; with local help delivered through the local chambers of commerce to get export documentation and opportunities; and with a host of other aids, including on-line.

But the Brexit element of all this is threefold. It is vital the we roll over existing trade deals that we enjoy through our EU membership to avoid disruption to existing relationships. It is important that we seize the new opportunity by securing new deals with more countries - USA, China, India and more. And it is crucial that we secure a tariff free and friction free trade deal with the EU. Otherwise, economically, Brexit will have been pointless.