EXPORTS, with which the North-East has enjoyed four quarters of growth, are likely to be a major driver of the UK economy’s recovery over the next year, a business group says.

Following its latest economic forecast, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the UK economy would continue to make headway this year, although it expects growth will be patchy and slow. The CBI said stronger net exports were expected to make an important contribution to the UK economy this year and next.

Export growth of 8.6 per cent this year and 7.6 per cent next year is expected to outpace the rise in imports over the period, resulting in a positive impact on GDP.

The total value of North- East exports last year was £11.91bn and the region retains a positive balance of payments, exporting £2.7bn more in goods than it imports.

Exports from the region in the last three months of 2010 totalled £3.3bn, the highestever quarterly figure for the North-East.

CBI director general John Cridland said: “Although there are a number of risks to the UK’s economic outlook, we continue to expect that the recovery will make further headway this year and next, but the pace will be sluggish.

“But there are some brighter spots in the forecast.

Global economic conditions remain upbeat, and we expect to see a stronger performance by UK exporters. Business investment will also make a firm contribution to growth.

“But the rebalancing of the economy is going to take time to feed through, and domestically it may not feel like much of a recovery for some time.”

The CBI expects this year’s GDP growth rate to be 1.7 per cent, marginally lower than the previous forecast of 1.8 per cent. Growth of 2.2 per cent is expected next year, down slightly from February’s forecast of 2.3 per cent.