Thanks to Ingrid Stegemoeller at the Tri-City Herald for this story:
Food and agriculture exports from Washington ports amounted to about $14.8 billion last year, a 60 percent increase from 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Several factors contributed to the increase, including strong yields, high prices for commodities, the relatively low value of the dollar, adverse weather in other parts of the world that decreased global supply, and trade missions that opened up new markets, said the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Washington is the third-largest food and agriculture product exporter of the 50 states and about one-third of products grown in the state are shipped overseas.
The value of certain products exported from Washington included wheat, worth $2.21 billion, apples, cherries and other fruit at $863 million, processed foods at $686 million, dairy products at $414 million, hay at $309 million and vegetables at $266 million.
The leading destinations for the exports include Japan, Canada, the Philippines, Indonesia, Korea and Mexico.
