A MAJOR campaign to gee-up under-performing and potential exporters in York and North Yorkshire gets underway this summer.

A series of seminars and clinics have been organised right up to March 2001 in a bid to get the region's companies to "think foreign sales".

It follows months of preparation by business support organisations led by North Yorkshire Training and Enterprise Council and the York and North Yorkshire Export Forum.

With the help of a successful bid for £567,000 worth of funding from the EC European Regional Development Fund, the campaign will particularly target small to medium sized businesses in rural areas of North Yorkshire, including in and around York.

Export figures in the county are way below what business analysts believe is the real potential.

Latest estimates are that only 27 per cent of potential exporters identified within North Yorkshire have active exporting strategies.

Free "awareness events" are being staged throughout June and July in Whitby, Leyburn, Pickering, Hawes, Richmond and Scarborough, designed to excite interest in exports.

These will be followed up with "pick and mix" style training events in September and October throughout North Yorkshire covering topics such as researching/visiting/selling to the market, guaranteeing payment, organising documentation and delivering the goods.

Meanwhile, there is an astonishing lack of data about the extent of exports from North Yorkshire - and this campaign is seen as the start of a fact-gathering exercise.

As part of the project Business Link North Yorkshire has been asked to research and develop an improved database.

John Guy, chairman of the new forum and senior specialist adviser for Business Link North Yorkshire said: "This will benchmark standards so that we can track progress since we have identified the problems"

Roland Harris, chief executive of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce who is also on the new regional Export Forum said: "There is no doubt that many businesses in the county who do not export could prosper if they did - and that this would have a beneficial impact on the local and national economy.''

"In our view they are missing valuable opportunities. This campaign aims to identify them and offer support and advice about successful exporting."

Many small business bosses are either too busy to activate their export potential or do not recognise that it exists.

"These are the people we wish to assist," said Mr Harris.

The local export drive follows hot on the heels of an appeal by Foreign Office Minister John Battle to the small firms of Yorkshire and Humberside not to be daunted by the size of giants of export.

Backing British Trade International's latest Export Award, he said: "Globalisation and the increasing influence of the Internet offer fresh opportunities to the smaller firm."

Free awareness events, with refreshments, take place at the Saxonville Hotel, Whitby, from noon to 2pm, on June 27; Tennants Auctioneers, Leyburn, 8am to 10am on June 28; The Forest and Vale, Pickering, 8am to 10am on July 4; Simonestone Hall, Hawes, 10am to noon on July 6; Kings Head Hotel, Richmond, 8am to 10am July 11; and the St Nicholas Hotel, Scarborough, (three sessions, 8am to 10am, noon to 2pm and 4pm to 6 pm) on July 13. For further information contact Business Link North Yorkshire on 01904 686000.