In the first quarter of 2002, total imports in the boats sector amounted to £27.4 million compared with over £31 million in the corresponding period in the previous year.

Evidently, total demand in the British market was under some pressure and was adversely affected by the slowdown in the economy, with the first three months of 2002 showing a zero growth.

A major factor has been the more difficult trading conditions in the international markets but, fortunately, interest rates in the UK have remained quite low so the UK economy has been fairly resilient and not as badly affected as other countries.

Sailboats

Sailing boat imports were lower, especially from some of the major suppliers of the Continent.

Deliveries by France to the UK dropped from £6.4 million to £5.7 million in the first quarter of 2002. Sales by Germany were also lower, declining from £1.8 million to £1.6 million in this period but those from Denmark were higher, reaching £800,000 as against £500,000 in the corresponding period in previous year.

Sales by Sweden were under pressure and halved in value to £360,000 while those by Finland slumped to £135,000 compared to £500,000 in the first quarter of 2001. However, Spanish sales in the British market improved from £545,000 to over £600,000 recently.

The United States has been a big supplier of sailing boats to the UK but its deliveries dropped sharply from £1.8 million to £1 million at the beginning of 2002.

Powerboats

In the case of motor boats, their imports were steady and amounted to £13.5 million in the first quarter of 2002, which was about the same as for the previous period 12 months earlier. Sales by France in this category remained stable at £800,000 while those by Germany jumped from £140,000 to £2.4 million recently. Higher deliveries were also recorded by some Scandinavian suppliers, especially Sweden and Finland. However, deliveries of motor boats by the USA were lower, falling from £6 million to £4 million but those by Japan moved up from £1.3 million to £1.8 million in 2002.

Inflatables

Imports of inflatables were slightly higher and accounted for £1.4 million between January and March 2002, compared to £1.2 million 12 months earlier. Sales by the United States jumped from £60,000 to nearly £290,000 while those by China doubled to £300,000 recently.

However, some of the European suppliers have seen their deliveries under pressure, including France and Holland, though exports by Portugal to the UK moved up steadily, reaching nearly £180,000 recently.

I expect demand for boats in the British market will stabilise and will show a gradual increase in the second half of 2002.

The economy is likely to improve gradually and, for 2002, a growth of nearly 2% is expected for total domestic product. Interest rates will continue to be quite low, though some increase may occur before the end of the year.

On the whole, imports of leisure boats may continue to fluctuate but a steadier trend is likely over the next six months.

Exports

British exports of leisure boats were under some pressure and fell from £75 million to £73 million at the beginning of 2002.

These figures exclude, however, some special orders, which were received from the Virgin Islands at the beginning of this year, to the tune of £20 million.

Trading conditions abroad have been difficult and have been influenced by the considerable slowdown in world activity.

In particular, the United States has been affected by a significant recession while the trading situation in Western Europe has also been quite tough. In view of this, the performance of British exports in the boat sector has been reasonably satisfactory, as they have been holding up well for certain types of leisure craft.

Sailboats

Exports of sailing boats were higher in some European countries - especially France - where they reached £360,000 compared with £200,000 12 months earlier while those to Greece increased from £400,000 to £600,000 at the beginning of this year.

In Spain, UK sales performed well and improved from £400,000 to £600,000 recently.

A steady growth has been reported for British sales to the USA, where they amounted to £2.4 million compared with £2.1 million in 2001.

Powerboats

Deliveries of British motorboats were steady at £66 million in the first three months of 2002.

Deliveries to some of the European countries were higher, with sales to France nearly doubled to £7.5 million, while those to Germany improved from £6 million to £9 million in this period.

However, deliveries were lower in Holland, falling from £3 million to less than £2 million recently. In addition, UK exports to Spain were sharply lower, declining from £15 million to £6 million in this period.

Deliveries to United States dropped from £14 million to £13 recently but those to Australia improved from £375,000 to £2.6 million in 2002.

Inflatables

Sales by the UK in overseas markets were lower, falling from £3 million to £1.7 million in the first quarter of 2002.

The main reason for the decline has been falling exports of inflatables to the USA, where they halved in value to £1 million at the beginning of this year.