A record number of exports were made by businesses in the South West in July, defying the gloomy national economic outlook.

Business West have reported that they processed and certified on average 125 European Certificates of Origin per day during the month.

The certificates are used by exporters to prove the origin of their goods, their weight and the country of destination.

Business West is one of 53 accredited chambers in the UK authorised to certify Certificates of Origin on behalf of exporters.

In addition to almost 2,300 plus Certificates of Origin, Business West also issued over 150 ATA Carnets in the same period.

Carnets are known as a 'passport for goods', and enables salespeople to transport goods and equipment across borders temporarily without paying import duties and taxes.

News of a bumper period for South West exporters comes as the UK suffers its first fall in GDP in six and a half years.

Between April and June the economy shrank by 0.2per cent. Another quarter of negative growth would tip the UK into its first recession since the financial crisis.

Phil Smith, Managing Director at Business West said: "Despite the UK economy teetering on the edge of a recession, South West businesses keep on trading with the world.

"This is reflected by that fact that our 19-strong export documentation team processed more export documents in the last 30 days than ever before.

"As the largest Chamber in the UK, not only are we one of the UKs leading providers of export document, we are also a bellwether for the economic health of this region."