Minnesota's second-quarter exports rose 3.6%

Minnesota's product exports rose at a faster pace during the second quarter even though shipments to the state's biggest customer, Canada, fell again.

Exports of manufactured, agricultural and mining products grew to $5.4 billion in the April-to-June period, up 3.6 percent from the same period a year ago. Exports grew 2 percent in the first three months of this year.

Sales to Canada fell 1 percent, however, amid continuing currency pressure. Minnesota's shipments to Canada were down 12 percent in the first quarter of the year and off 8 percent for all of last year.

In the latest period, Minnesota's second-biggest market, China, bought $580 million worth of goods, down 2 percent. Exports to Mexico skyrocketed 61 percent to $542 million, and sales to Japan rose 15 percent to $301 million.

In a statement, Katie Clark Sieben, commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, said, "Minnesota's strong second quarter reflects an economy that is healthy and expanding."

Optical and medical products proved the quarter's largest export, displacing machinery for the top spot from a year ago. This year, medical product orders were particularly heavy from Belgium, China and Japan, the department reported.

The report showed an unusual uptick in demand for ore, slag and ash. Those exports jumped 384 percent from a year ago due a surge in orders from Canada and Mexico. Canadian orders shot up 315 percent to $95 million.

But the state still has a long distance to go. Exports last year amounted to $20.7 billion last year, meaning the state's goods producers would have to lift their overseas sales by about 20 percent a year.

To spur growth, the state opened trade offices in China, South Korea, Brazil and Germany in recent years and strongly encouraged small and medium-sized factories here to explore sales opportunities abroad. The Department of Employment and Economic Development, Greater MSP and the U.S. Commerce Department helped business owners with overseas contacts and the trade support needed to navigate tax, transportation and cultural issues abroad.