THE pounding which Scottish exporters are taking as a result of the Asian financial crisis was revealed in a survey published yesterday by the independent Scottish Council Development and Industry (SCDI).

The 106 companies which responded indicated they had lost profits totalling nearly #24m.

Given they were surveyed back in February and March, this figure is likely to have increased substantially. They indicated they had lost more than #101m of orders between them. The same respondents had reported #750m of exports to the region in SCDI's most recent annual survey.

More than half of the respondents said the effects of the crisis were extreme or considerable. The profitability of 62% had been hit.

SCDI said it had made

Chancellor Gordon Brown aware of the survey's findings.