We often think of exports in the physical form.
Scotch whisky, for example, is a tangible product that can sit in a container and be shipped around the world.
In fact, all manner of food and drink and manufactured goods are packaged up and dispatched to overseas markets.
We all get that, but what about those companies making a splash on the international stage in a less obvious way? What about companies that don’t export a physical product?
What about Scotland’s indigenous computer games industry for example?
Dundee has long been recognised as an international hub for games development but I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I recall it being described as a major exporter.
But, in reality, that is what it is.
And it is doing it on a scale and in a timeframe that must leave traditional exporters green with envy.
On Friday, Dundee games studio Outplay Entertainment released its latest title, Bubble Genius.
Within 24 hours of being released online, the game had been downloaded almost 27,000 times by gamers all across the planet.
Since the studio was founded in 2011 its titles have been downloaded a phenomenal 50 million times.
While Outplay may be a large studio in terms of staffing, it is by no means the only one making waves.
4J and Minecraft, Cobra and iBomber, Tag and Downton Abbey, Ninja Kiwi and Bloons you get the point but I could go on and on. Each of these companies is making a product that is exported to scores of global markets instantly and simultaneously.
Their trading model means they are not bound by the weight of bureaucracy that puts firms off from trading overseas. Essentially, the only real curbs on the digital industries are their creativity and the strength of the broadband network wherever the end user may be.
Just because there aren’t containers of Bubble Genius stacked up at the dockside doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be recognised for what it is.
Another fine Scottish export.