UK book exports fall on the back of weak sales in the US, Australasia

UK book exports fell three percent in 2015 due in part to a weak market in the US, reports the Bookseller. Total exports were worth £1.4bn (A$2.62bn), down from £1.5bn (A$2.8bn) in 2014, with the largest drop in children’s book exports, which fell 20% from £108m to £87m. Academic/professional books—the UK’s largest export category—also dropped by six percent. The territories registering the biggest drops were North America (down 18%) and Australasia (down 12.6%), while exports rose in the ‘Other Americas’ (10%) and the Middle East and North Africa (7.4%). UK Publishers Association CEO Stephen Lotinga said publishers ‘haven’t been exempt from the fragile global economic environment facing all export businesses’. ‘Strong growth in developing markets, such as the Middle East and South America, has been very welcome, but the macroeconomic difficulties facing the North American and European markets have, not surprisingly, had an impact,’ said Lotinga.

Category: International news