Business leaders today welcomed news that Bradford has been named Yorkshire and Humberside's exporting hotspot.

A national survey of 1.2 million companies from every postcode in the UK showed Bradford firms are more active in export markets than anywhere else in the county.

The research by Parcelforce Worldwide surveyed every British postcode to find the areas with the highest proportion of exporting businesses.

As well as being the best performer in Yorkshire, Bradford also ranked a creditable 28th-best in the UK.

Today Bradford Chamber of Commerce policy executive Mike Cartwright said he was pleased but not surprised by the findings of the survey.

Sheffield (35th in the UK) had the second-highest proportion of exporting companies in the county, followed by Leeds (40th), Doncaster (44th), Halifax (55th) and Hull (63rd).

Taking the region as a whole, Yorkshire and Humberside was the fifth-best-performing region in the survey, behind London and the South East, the West Midlands, the East of England and the East Midlands.

Parcelforce Worldwide managing director Vanessa Leeson said: "Our results reveal that Bradford is a centre for excellence in exporting.

"Research shows that a one per cent increase in countrywide exporting would generate £1.8 billion of revenue for the UK, so Bradford's record for export capabilities is helping to strengthen the economy locally and nationwide."

Mr Cartwright said he was pleased Bradford was "leading the way in the region".

"The research is probably not surprising to many local people, including the businesses themselves," he said. "One of the great strengths of business in Bradford is its ability to export and it obviously has a strong industrial heritage of international trade. Businesses large and small appear more than willing to try to break into new markets while consolidating established ones.

"We would agree with the description of Bradford as a centre of excellence in exporting and think that even more opportunities will open up in years to come. With barriers breaking down everywhere and the recent expansion of the European Union, combined with support on projects such as trade missions from the Chamber and Foreign Office, exporting should increase at a greater rate."

Mr Cartwright added: "The report also demonstrates why support for manufacturing remains important, so that we can continue to highlight Brad-ford's value and quality when it comes to manufactured goods."