Research commissioned by Wyelands Bank has revealed that aerospace is the UK’s second fastest growing export sector with an estimated growth rate of 3.7% a year until 2021.
The research also found that UK aerospace exports were worth $21.5bn last year and that projected growth is set to generate an additional $796m a year.
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The growth means that only the food and beverage industry, which is expected to grow at 6.3% through 2021, had larger growth.
Wyelands Bank CEO Iain Hunter said: “SMEs within aerospace contribute 30% of sector turnover making them an important part of the industry.
“Smaller, more innovative companies, especially in manufacturing, play an important part in the UK’s foothold in global supply chains, as these aerospace businesses demonstrate.”
Currently, aerospace is the eighth largest export sector in the UK, making the country the fourth biggest aerospace exporter globally after the US, France and Germany, where exports are worth $136bn, $74bn and $47bn, respectively.
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By GlobalDataLast year, UK aerospace imports were worth $20.1bn, which allowed the country to have a trade surplus of $1.4bn in the sector.
According to the research, the UK exports more large aircraft and more helicopters than it imports.
The country also imports nearly twice the number of aircraft parts,including engines and radar, radio navigational solutions and radio remote control apparatus,than it exports.
Last year, the UK exported $5.5bn, $4bn and $3.8bn worth of aerospace products to Germany, France and the US, respectively.
The country’s fastest growing aerospace export partners are predicted to include South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Italy, France and Spain.
Europe remains the UK’s largest trading partner for aerospace exports with a 46.3% share, said the study.
North America is second with 17.2%, while Asia Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mena and South America have 7%, 5.4%, 1.8% and 1.2% rates, respectively.
