Based on the strength of high oil and agricultural prices, the value of the state’s exports reached a new high of $11.5 billion in the first quarter of this year compared to $7.3 billion in 2007, according to the WTC report.
Agricultural products, petroleum and coal, chemicals, processed foods, and machinery ranked as Louisiana's top five export sectors in the January-March 2008 period, all of which registered double-digit or higher percentage gains over the first three months of 2007. The state's principal export markets in the first quarter were China, Mexico, Japan, the Netherlands, and Canada.

The WTC report was generated by the World Institute of Strategic Economic Research (WISER) from U.S. Census Bureau data. It covers the exports of both Louisiana-originating products and some major commingled bulk commodities (especially grain and coal) that are produced in other states, shipped abroad from Louisiana's ports, and recorded as Louisiana exports because of the difficulty of identifying the actual states of origin.

The value of export shipments of agricultural products through Louisiana’s lower Mississippi River ports – which account for over 50 percent of U.S. grain exports – was especially strong in the first quarter of 2008. The level of agricultural exports reached $5.1 billion, a 46.2 percent increase over the same period one year earlier, although the vessel weight of those shipments actually declined slightly.

"The state's continuing strong export performance is due mainly to exceptionally high prices of agricultural and petroleum-related products, but the gains in other products were impressive as well," said Larry Collins, Director of International Services with Louisiana Economic Development. "The increases were also driven by the ongoing weakness of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies.”
After agricultural products, Louisiana's largest exports in value in the January-March 2008 period were petroleum and coal products ($2.5 billion, a 128.8 percent increase), chemicals ($1.6 billion, a 35.2 percent increase), processed foods ($1.1 billion, a 81.9 percent increase), and machinery ($242 million, a 22.4 percent increase).

"Many of Louisiana’s exporters are continuing to do very well in their overseas sales," said Donald van de Werken, Director of the New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center. "It is noteworthy that three of Louisiana's top 10 export markets were countries with which the United States already has a Free Trade Agreement (Mexico, Canada, and Singapore) and two others have FTAs pending in Congress (Colombia and Korea)."
China was the number one market for Louisiana exports in the first quarter of 2008 with $1.3 billion, a 65.4 percent increase in value over the same period in 2007, although the vessel weight of agricultural products, the main shipments to China, was slightly lower.

Exports to Mexico ranked second in value with $747 million, a 26.0 percent increase, while those to Japan were $740.9 million, a 4 percent decrease over the prior year’s first quarter. The Netherlands was in fourth place as an export market for Louisiana ($716 million), followed by Canada ($572 million), Egypt ($520 million), and Colombia ($464 million).

"Even with the slowdown in the U.S. economy, there continues to be terrific export opportunities for Louisiana companies in many other countries,” said Eugene Schreiber, Managing Director of the World Trade Center. "And there are outstanding prospects for the direct importation of building materials, construction equipment, environmental technologies, and other goods and services into southern Louisiana and Mississippi in connection with the rebuilding and recovery efforts that will continue here for many years to come.”

Among all states, Louisiana ranked 7th in 2008’s first quarter, up from 10th for all of 2007. Texas, California, and New York continued to be the top three exporting states. Total U.S. exports in January-March 2008 were $317.4 billion, a 17.2 percent increase over the comparable period in 2007.

The following three charts summarize the data reported above.

• Louisiana Exports by Country (NAICS)
• Louisiana Exports by Industry (NAICS)
• Louisiana Exports by Commodity (HS)
• U.S. Exports by State (NAICS)