Essex Chambers of Commerce has welcomed the support of new Trade Minister Lord Livingston for the county’s exporters.

Together with Witham MP Priti Patel, Essex Chambers staged a meeting at which Lord Livingston ? who as Ian Livingston was previously chief executive of BT ? meet exporters of all sizes from across the county to hear at first-hand about their experiences in trading with countries around the world.

The event was hosted by Crittall Windows at Witham and their

Denise Rossiter, chief executive of Essex Chambers, said “It was a pleasure to meet Lord Livingston so early in his role and I was encouraged to hear of the many exciting opportunities and initiatives within UK Trade and Investment that will help SME’s to export. His aspirations for exports fit in with our recently launched International Trade Forum.”

Lord Livingston added: “Relationships with the chambers is absolutely essential for the export effort and my thanks go to Essex Chambers for not only organising this event but for all you do in supporting and promoting exports.”

Priti Patel said: “I was delighted that Lord Livingston was able to make time to come and see the range of dynamic exporters that we have in Essex and I will be working closely with him and Essex Chambers to ensure that we are able to build on the success we have achieved in opening up overseas markets for our businesses.”

John Pyatt, managing director of Crittall Windows, which hosted the event, said: “I am very pleased that the Minister is taking time to come and talk to businesses about the issues they face when exporting and find out what help we need to grow our exports overseas.”

In addition to his visit to Crittall Windows, Lord Livingston also met with two other Essex Chambers’ members, Wilkin & Sons at Tiptree and e2v at Chelmsford.