Total Missouri exports topped $14.1 billion in 2011, a new record for the Show-Me state and a huge boost to the state’s overall economic expansion, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
The exports reflect a 9 percent growth rate from 2010 and are in line with Gov. Jay Nixon’s promise to increase exports and move the economy forward as part of his Missouri Works Program, according to Nixon’s website.
Four industries exceeded $1 billion in exports, and accounted for 63 percent of all 2011 exports. Those industries are transportation equipment, chemicals, machinery and food products, according to the MDED.
Dale Backer, owner of Backer’s Potato Chips in Fulton, said he can sense the increased export opportunities.
“I would say about 80 percent of our products now go outside of Missouri and the U.S., with Mexico as our main international destination,” Baker said. “We have large customers in Monterrey and Mexico City.”
Backer Potato Chips have also gone as far as Japan, but they focus more on Mexico as the packaging requirements are much less restrictive, Backer said.
The largest three exporting countries account for half of Missouri exports. Canada purchased $4.3 billion in goods, followed by Mexico with $1.4 billion and China at $1.2 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Division.
In the past 10 years, Missouri exports have continued an explosive expansion, increasing from $6.8 billion to $14.1 billion, or just lower than a 100 percent increase in the last decade, according to the MDED.
In October, Nixon led a delegation of more than 60 Missouri leaders to China to close a series of economic agreements, which Nixon’s office said will create an additional $4.6 billion in exports through 2014.
During a Jan. 9 speech, Nixon said his top legislative priority for 2012 is his Missouri Works strategy, which will further increase Missouri’s international exposure and bring jobs to Missouri.
“Missouri Works gives us concrete steps we can take right now to attract new employers to Missouri, create career opportunities and keep our economy growing. When it comes to creating jobs and growing our economy, we simply don’t have a day to lose,” Nixon said in the speech.
Missouri Works builds on the specifics the Missouri Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth established in 2010. That initiative involved 600 Missouri businesses, education and labor leaders to develop a blueprint to transform the economy, Nixon said.
Included in Missouri Works is a renewed focus on Missouri businesses’ ability to find international buyers, attract next generation automotive suppliers, hire more veterans, train more high-tech workers, and create jobs in rural communities as well as other specifics, according to the strategy.
To hire more veterans, Nixon created the Show-Me Heroes Pledge, which allows Missouri businesses to take a pledge to interview, focus on and consider hiring military veterans.
Michele Spry, owner of Midway Electric of Columbia, said her company took the pledge last year and has already hired two veterans directly related to the program, with an intent to hire more through the pledge as they become needed.
The Missouri unemployment rate is currently at 8 percent, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is looking to Missouri as a top state for business growth and expansion, according to Nixon’s website.
