Maine’s exports increased 4.4% in 2007, a far cry from the 13.7% increase the state notched in 2006, according to new numbers from the Maine International Trade Center.
A decrease in the price of some of Maine’s traditional exports, such as wood products and fish, seem to be responsible for the slow down, Wade Merritt, director of operations at the MITC, told Mainebiz this morning. In 2007, Maine saw a nearly $20 million decrease in exports of wood and wood products, a $7 million decrease in wood pulp and a $5 million decrease in fish. Merritt said he’s guessing some of the decreases are due to the weakening dollar and Canadian companies moving the processing of some products from Maine to Canadian plants.
Maine’s top five trading partners remained unchanged since 2006. Canada, which imported $890.7 million worth of Maine goods in 2007 — a 3.4% decrease from 2006 — remained Maine’s top trading partner, while Malaysia ($723.4 million), China ($139.2 million), Japan ($118.7 million) and the Republic of Korea ($118.5 million) rounded out the top five.
View 2007 exports by commodity here. View 2007 exports by destination here.
