New awards recognise contribution to UK economy by manufacturers, border innovators, customs professionals, and food and drink traders

New awards have been created to mark the key role that certain sectors and professional roles play in boosting UK economic growth.

There are four new categories in the International Trade Awards this year. The awards are run by the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade to recognise outstanding achievements in UK trade.

The new categories are:

· Border Innovation

· Excellence in Customs

· Manufacturing - Trade Impact

· Food & Drink Trader of the Year

Customs excellence ‘essential’

Anna Doherty, customs practice director at the Chartered Institute, said the ‘Excellence in Customs’ category was created to reflect the importance of compliance in trade.

“Professionals and organisations working in customs compliance play a massive role in ensuring goods cross the UK border in a legal and efficient way,” she said.

“Without this essential expertise, the UK economy would be hindered by delays at the border, incorrect duty collection on imports and a hit to business confidence in international trade opportunities.

“This is why we wanted to recognise excellence in this sector with the new award this year.”

Ilona Kawka, the imports advisory lead at the Chartered Institute, added that the ‘Border Innovation’ category also recognises the role that the technology sector can play in making cross-border trade in the UK easier.

“There is some great work being done to make cross-border trade smoother through new innovative solutions, which deserves to be recognised.

“This work will be really beneficial for businesses moving goods internationally, as well as for government bodies that oversee these trade activities from a regulatory and security perspective.”

Key sectors for UK growth

Hayley Zeff, the head of membership at the Chartered Institute, said that new awards for manufacturing and food and drink reflected the significance of these sectors to the UK economy.

“Within our membership community, we have seen significant trade successes across the manufacturing and food and drink sectors. We felt it was important to recognise these achievements in this year’s International Trade Awards.

“These sectors are both vital to the UK economy, and home to many of our most innovative and high‑performing exporters and importers.”

Returning categories

The remaining categories this year are ‘MSME-Business of the Year’, ‘Rising Talent in Trade’ and ‘Sustainable Trade’ – the latter of which is an update to the ‘Trade for Good’ category of previous years.

Shortlisted entries across all seven categories will be invited to an awards ceremony on 23 June at the House of Lords, where the winners will be announced.

Charlie Laycock, the head of events at the Chartered Institute, says she is looking forward to hosting the “outstanding achievers” across all the categories.

“The awards ceremony will be a great event, celebrating the outstanding achievers across all seven categories this year, as well as a lifetime achievement award winner that will be chosen independently by the Chartered Institute.

“This year’s awards have four new categories designed to reflect key sectors in UK trade – manufacturing, food and drink, border innovation and customs.

“All seven categories – also covering MSMEs, sustainability and rising talent – reflect the key work of businesses and professionals in creating UK trade growth for both today and tomorrow.”