Gains and losses among Maine's major export partners and commodities
Commodities
Maine is seeing a continued increase in aerospace exports, mostly for plane parts, although the new Kestrel facility in Brunswick could lead to more exports of whole planes, according to Janine Bisaillon-Cary, president of the Maine International Trade Center.
Growth in medical products remains strong, and biotechnology is growing as Maine companies export both chemical reagents and electronic equipment. In 2010, Eastport began shipping live, pregnant dairy cows to Turkey, boosting bovine exports. A softening wood products market at the end of last year meant contractions for some products, while others continued to grow. The semiconductor industry remains strong and is a vital source of job growth, she says.
Trading partners
Exports to China dropped due to shrinking demand for pulp and electronic circuits markets, and because of the country's efforts to rein in its soaring GDP growth. Medical products and electronics, meanwhile, were in high demand in Singapore, which is increasingly serving as a redistribution hub for Asia, according to Bisaillon-Cary.
What to look for in 2012:
- Increased exports to Japan of food, especially seafood and blueberries, and renewable energy components as the country rebuilds from last year's earthquake and tsunami
- Growing markets in Latin America, particularly Brazil, Mexico and Chile
- Also, growth in Korea and Colombia after a free-trade agreement took effect March 15
- Europe's debt crisis will be the biggest factor in determining 2012's export growth, since it's one of Maine's strongest markets
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