EXPORTS from the North-East have continued to hit unprecedented levels, boosted by the manufacturing sector.

In the period January to March 2012, ours was one of three English regions to show record growth, with the value of goods from the North-East reaching a record high of £3.639bn, the latest government figures showed.

This brings the 12-monthly total up to £13.75bn - also a record number.

The importance of manufacturing to the North-East economy was demonstrated as exports of specialised machinery, cars and power generating machinery were the fastest growing, showing increases of 24 per cent, 23 per cent and 20 per cent respectively on the previous year.

Nissan in Sunderland led the way, accounting for nearly £5bn of export revenue. The likes of Cummins engine plant in Darlington, engineering management experts Pearson-Harper of Billingham, and Peterlee-based GT Group were among those also flying the flag abroad.

Iron and steel was up 7.5 per cent to £387m, a figure which is set to grow significantly in the upcoming year as weekly shipments of steel are made from SSI's Redcar works to Thailand.

There were also increases in pharmaceuticals of 2.4 per cent to £2.38bn and electrical machinery of 7.7 per cent to £507m and

The United States remains the largest single market for North-East goods with goods worth a 12-month export value of £2.4bn, an increase of 20.12 per cent on the previous 12 month figure.

Exports to South Africa increased by £68.23m, or 59 per cent, to £184m while exports to Russia increased by £392.92m, or 47 per cent, to give a total of £1.236bn.

David Coppock, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) regional director celebrated the good news but warned against complacency.

"We cannot be complacent and we want to see even more companies stepping up to the international trade challenge," he said.

"Our aim is to help create 500 new exporters over the next two years and we will be spending the next quarter encouraging and supporting firms to do this.

"Overseas markets offer a host of opportunities and there continues to be a strong demand for North-East products and I would urge companies to take up the export challenge and contact UKTI to find out how we can help."