Britain's export target won't be hit without changes, says spending watchdog Noting that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have a "vital contribution to make towards helping the Government achieve its ambitions," the committee said smaller UK companies are not performing as well at exporting as their peers in France and Germany. "UKTI needs to be a more effective source of intelligence on new opportunities in overseas markets," said Ms Hodge. It needs to get better at helping SMEs export more by supporting them in overcoming the barriers they face. The committee said that while the amount Britain exports to developing markets is low compared to our sales to advanced nations, the UK is growing its sales to emerging countries faster than rivals including Germany, France and Italy. However, our total exports are expanding at a slower rate than these three countries and the PAC called for work to understand why Britain is falling behind. It also said that export success in emerging economies is key to hitting the target and called for UKTI and the FCO to develop a "joint roadmap" focusing on these markets, as well setting out plans for clearly dividing up roles and responsibilities so the two agencies work together more effectively. The committee also said that the FCO does not have the ways of measuring how effective its spending is at promoting UK business as UKTI does, and said it would benefit from developing similar "ready means to evaluate the impact of its work to promote exports." This would mean the FCO could see which of its efforts are most effective in different circumstances, and show it delivers value for money, the PAC said.