This sector was previously not defined as manufacturing and as such has not been fully investigated in the past. The remaining three sectors contribute more than 10 million each to the area s export total, comprising a broad range of engineering products, minerals and aggregates, and wood products. Again, all of these sectors tend to have a limited number of major exporters who dominate the performance. Although relatively low, Scotland s exports are principally derived from the electronics industry and whisky, mainly located in the Central Belt and comprising predominantly multinationals. This sector, however, makes only a modest contribution to the Scottish export total.
Greater variation is shown in the trading pattern with North America.
The overall geographic breakdown indicates sales to a wide range of overseas markets. In total, trade has been recorded with over 60 countries. The European Union markets will continue to be key targets for Highlands and Islands exporters and an increasing interest in the Asian Pacific markets is likely. The scope for increasing the volume and value of exports from the Highlands and Islands will be limited by a number of key issues - the two main ones reported being Product Development and Market Information. Opportunities should exist to link higher education and business to encourage product development, and efforts are necessary to heighten the awareness of information sources on topics such as market size, competition, pricing, general data on the economy and culture of the target destination, and access to funding.