Four in ten UK exporters saw their costs rise over the past year, the highest proportion since June 2023, according to the latest official survey of British businesses.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 40% of trading businesses with 10 or more employees that exported goods, services or both said their exporting costs had increased compared with a year earlier. The figure was broadly stable with June 2026 but was the highest reported since the 43% recorded in June 2023.

The finding comes from wave 167 of the Business Insights and Conditions Survey, which ran from 19 October to 1 November 2026 and drew 9,628 responses from a sample of 38,542 businesses. In late September, 21% of trading businesses with 10 or more employees reported that they had exported in the previous 12 months.

The ONS cautioned that the results are official statistics in development and are subject to sampling variability, since the survey is voluntary and respondents may not have full oversight of their organisation's future expectations. Even so, the survey points to sustained pressure on firms selling overseas, alongside rising domestic costs: of larger businesses reporting on supply chains, 64% expected the cost of sourcing materials to be affected and 60% expected transport costs to be hit.

Most businesses were still trading in late October, with 95% trading, 86% of them fully. The next release of the survey is due on 19 November 2026.