Louisiana Reaches Export Record Of $65.1 Billion

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Commerce says merchandise exports from Louisiana climbed 2.8 percent to a record $65.1 billion in 2014, and new trade agreements could boost those totals in the coming years.

The World Trade Center in New Orleans says the 2014 gain marked the sixth consecutive year of export growth for the state, up from $63.3 billion in 2013.

Louisiana's principal export markets for 2014 were China, $8.7 billion, up 8.9 percent; Mexico, $7.3 billion, up 14.5 percent; and Canada, $3.3 billion, up 5.6 percent, followed by the Netherlands, Japan, Colombia, France, Brazil, Egypt and Panama.

The World Trade Center tells The Advocate Louisiana ranked sixth among U.S. states, the same ranking it held in 2013.