3 C h A p T e r o n e WhY sTArT exporTing? ny company that has good products and a steady level of business in its home market should logically consider exporting as a way of growing their business still further. The risks are greater, but the rewards can also be significant. Although expanding your sales abroad gives you major opportunities for growth, you need to be aware that the associated costs are higher than selling domestically ­ so margins will usually be lower. Language and cultural differences, political instability, currency and payment problems can all pose risks to inexperienced exporters too. These are reasons why your export sales should always supplement your domestic sales and not replace them. A The export superpowers In recent years world trade has grown at a faster rate than world output. At the time of writing, world exports of merchandise and com- mercial services are worth around $18.5 trillion. World merchandise exports in the form of manufactured goods, minerals and agricultural commodities account for about 80 per cent of global trade, with services comprising the other 20 per cent. The proportion made up by services is continuing to increase year on year. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), (www.wto.org), China is the largest merchandise exporter, followed by the United States and Germany. The United States is the largest exporter of commercial services, followed by Germany and the UK. Figures 1.1 and 1.2 show the