2-26-13 Exports reach record levels

Posted by Staff report Latest Headlines Tuesday, February 26th, 2013

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The state of West Virginia has reached a record amount of exports in 2012 marking the third straight year, according to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

“Last year, West Virginia’s exports grew by 25 percent, surpassing the national growth rate of 4.6 percent,” Gov. Tomblin said in a prepared statement. “Exports are a valuable contributor to our state’s economic growth and stability. While coal continues to be our traditional strength, our top exports also included manufactured products such as plastics, chemicals, machinery and components for medical, automotive and aerospace applications.”
Products worth $11.3 billion dollars left the state to overseas buyers. That was up more than $2 billion dollars from the previous year.

Coal showed the most growth in exports at 40 percent. The most coal from the Mountain State went to the Netherlands at $801 million followed by Italy, India and China.

Plastics is the state’s second largest export. It exceeded $1 billion for the second straight year.

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