Bringing The World Home To You

© 2024 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862
91.5 Chapel Hill 88.9 Manteo 90.9 Rocky Mount 91.1 Welcome 91.9 Fayetteville 90.5 Buxton 94.1 Lumberton 99.9 Southern Pines 89.9 Chadbourn
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

North Carolina's Export Business Continues To Boom

NC Exports Up
NC Commerce Department

North Carolina’s export business around the world continues to boom.  Numbers from the U.S. International Trade Administration show merchandise exports jumped by 6% compared to this time last year – up to $14.8 billion.

Jean Davis is the Director of International Trade for the state Commerce Department.  She says excluding a dip in 2008 during the recession, exports have been on the rise for the past decade.

“Our exports to India creeping up by a huge 86% and Europe continuing to be strong for us with France and Ireland up a lot as well, yeah, I would certainly call it a trend," said Davis.

The largest export categories include chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, computer and electronic products, and textiles.  Davis says one reason why 'chemicals' tops the list is because the category includes pharmaceuticals.

"Clearly, around the world, as the middle class grows people need access to A, those raw materials and B, medicines for their health," said Davis.

Some of the countries contributing to North Carolina's jump in export sales for the for half of 2013 are India (up 86%), France (up 67%), Ireland (up 62%), Saudi Arabia (up 44%) and China (up 12%).

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.
Related Stories
More Stories