David Cameron has promised an in-out referendum on the country's membership by the end of 2017

Britain has sold nearly £16billion more in goods to countries outside the EU than to those within it in just over a year, official figures showed yesterday.

Exports to Europe have now lagged behind those to the rest of the world for a record 13 months in a row.

Eurosceptics seized on the figures – which showed that trade with the US, Canada and Japan is booming – as evidence that Britain could forge a prosperous future outside the EU.

David Cameron has promised an in-out referendum on the country's membership by the end of 2017, triggering a row between eurosceptics and pro-European campaigners including the Confederation of British Industry.

The lobby group's president, Paul Drechsler, is expected to use the CBI annual conference on Monday to hit back at critics who have accused it of rigging a survey that showed eight out of ten business supported staying in the EU. CBI director-general John Cridland said yesterday 'most, but not all, businesses want to be in a reformed EU'.

He insisted he had 'never claimed' the CBI's pro-EU stance was universally agreed by all his member businesses.

He said the survey, conducted two years ago, was 'just a small part' of the process to gather views from CBI members.

Mr Cridland said the CBI had a 'crystal clear' mandate in its pro-EU position.

But it is facing an investigation by the British Polling Council over claims the survey was rigged and there were 'serious violations' of the council's rules by pollsters YouGov.

Paul Stephenson, a spokesman for the Vote Leave campaign, said: 'Global trade patterns are changing, and those who say we should stay in the EU at all costs are trying to stop Britain benefiting from these new opportunities.

'It is increasingly clear that remaining trapped in the EU and its shrinking share of world trade is the most risky option. It is time we took back our rightful place in the global economy.'

The Office for National Statistics said exports of British-made goods to the EU fell 2.1 per cent in September to £11.3billion. By contrast, sales to the rest of the world rose 6.8 per cent to £12.7billion.

Paul Drechsler, pictured, is expected to use the CBI annual conference on Monday to hit back at critics who have accused it of rigging a survey that showed eight out of ten business supported staying in the EU

Over the past 13 months, sales to the EU have totalled £150.9billion, some £15.7billion less than the £166.6billion worth of goods sold to the rest of the world. 'Exporters to the EU have found life tough going over the past few months,' said Philip Shaw, an economist at the banking group Investec.

The ONS said exports to the US over the past three months were 30.2 per cent higher than in the same period last year, while sales to Canada rose by 29.5 per cent and those to Japan by 9.9 per cent.

WE DIDN'T RIG POLL, SAYS CBI The head of the CBI hit back yesterday at allegations the lobby group rigged a poll showing that eight out of ten British firms backed staying in the EU. John Cridland, director general of the group, insisted he had ‘never claimed’ the CBI’s pro-EU stance was universally agreed by all his member businesses. He said the survey, conducted two years ago, was ‘just a small part’ of the process to gather views from CBI members. Mr Cridland said the CBI had a ‘crystal clear’ mandate in its pro-EU position. But it is facing an investigation by the British Polling Council over claims the survey was rigged and there were ‘serious violations’ of the council’s rules by pollsters YouGov. Advertisement

However, China spent 35.1 per cent less on British-made goods as the economic slowdown there hit demand.

Spain was the only one of the 'big four' countries in the eurozone to buy more UK goods than a year ago, although sales were up just 0.8 per cent in the three-month period.

By contrast, there was an 11.9 per cent fall in exports to France, an 8.3 per cent fall to Italy and a 2 per cent fall to Germany.

Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the Ernst & Young Item Club, an economic forecasting group, said EU countries accounted for 47 per cent of British goods exported during the first nine months of this year, down from 50 per cent last year and a peak of 66 per cent in the early 2000s.

He noted 'a decline in the share of UK exports going to the EU' since the financial crisis.

In 2012, the Chancellor set a goal of doubling exports of British goods and services to £1trillion a year by 2020. But a report this week from the British Chambers of Commerce warned that the target will be missed by 14 years.