East Twin Cities

The report for the third quarter exports came out recently, pegging exports in Minnesota as being valued at $4.8 billion, according to a report from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

This represents a 14% decrease, down $803 million from the third quarter of last year. The report included exports of agricultural, mining and manufactured products. 

The U.S. third-quarter exports fell 13%, which means Minnesota performed slightly worse than the average across the rest of the country. In total, exports decreased in 43 states. 

“Exports play a critical role in Minnesota’s economy. The Minnesota Trade Office continues to support exporters by pivoting their services to meet the current demands of our virtual environment, including trade missions, webinars and engaging the state’s foreign offices and industry leaders to assist small- and medium-sized companies in exploring and expanding their international sales," DEED Commissioner Steve Grove said.

Many experts attribute the drop to the coronavirus pandemic. With the vaccine availability looming, it is also expected that progress will be made in the coming months to recover some of the economic loss that has been experienced at the hands of the pandemic.