What happens to Swedish Exports in 2022? A prognosis from Linnaeus University
With the current severe COVID situation in Europe and around the globe expected to last well into 2022, we might very well expect that E-business will continue to grow, not only in Sweden but on all export markets.
This predicts professor Per Servais at Linnaeus University's knowledge platform GlobalMind, and he continues:
"This will lead many exporting firms to adopting a multichannel strategy for export markets – including sales on foreign web platforms like ECPlaza–Global. But to many firms, this is a real jungle, almost as dangerous as COVID, but a necessity to navigate. Use the knowledge of ALMI or Handelskammaren to avoid making any mistakes", the professor continues.
"Research on exports in Northern Europe points to the fact that firms are expecting more exports to Europe and the US but with largest increase in exports to Asia (except for China) and South America", Per Servais explains.
"Overall, the companies are becoming less optimistic concerning their exports. One of the reasons for this is shortages in raw materials and components. In some countries, up to 40% of the firms report having lost export orders due to lack of materials. Otherwise, many exporting firms report on the lack of qualified employees. In some countries, 35% of the larger exporting firms report problems hiring qualified staff", Servais continues.
"Many of the shortages is due to the previous closure of Zhoushan, Ningbo harbour and delays in cargo out of Shanghai airport. This combined with with information on export restrictions, environmental issues and other sourcing issues has led many firms to start looking for alternatives outside of Asia. This change of the 'global factories' might be a real opportunity for Swedish exporting firms in the future", Servais concludes.