Ag Exports Jump 17.2%
November 14, 2013 – California’s exporters turned in another strong showing in September, according to a Beacon Economics’ analysis of foreign trade data released this morning by the U.S. Commerce Department
For the month of September, the state’s merchandise export trade totaled $13.78 billion, a nominal 7.1% increase over the $12.87 billion in exports recorded in September 2012. By comparison, exporters in Texas managed only a 3.9% gain over the same period.
The uptick in California was led by a solid $380 million increase in manufactured exports, which rose by 4.6% to $8.80 billion from $8.42 billion last September.
Meanwhile, the state’s exports of non-manufactured goods (chiefly agricultural produce and raw materials) grew by $260 million, up 17.2% to $1.77 billion from $1.51 billion last year. Re-exports were up by $270 million, from $2.94 billion to $3.21 billion, an increase of 9.2%. Year-to-date, California’s $122.96 billion merchandise export trade is running slightly ahead of the $121.14 billion recorded in the same period last year.
“Given the generally sclerotic state of much of the global economy these days, September’s numbers could almost be described as gravity-defying,” said Jock O’Connell, Beacon Economics’ International Trade Adviser.
The strong August showing boosted California’s export tally during the year’s first eight months to $109.18 billion, marginally ahead of the $108.27 billion recorded in the same period last year.