Globalization: Washington cows, Italian food, Korean customers

Moo:  Washington's dairy exports are increasing

Although it ranks 10^th in the United States in milk production, Washington exports more dairy products than any other state except California. A big part of the reason? The appetite in Korea for pizza, with oodles of cheese topping.

That’s the story reported by the Tri-City Herald, which notes that state dairy exports increased by 35 percent in the last few years to attain an annual total of $461 million in 2011. Much of the demand comes from Japan, China, Korea and Southeast Asia, which suggests a growing taste for milk and cheese in cultures in which those foods are not traditionally a major part of the diet. With its Pacific ports, Washington is well positioned to satisfy the growing market.

The heart of Washington dairy country is the Yakima Valley, one of the largest-producing areas in the nation.

Read this story in Spanish here.

High demand for Washington-made goods

Washington is the largest exporter of goods on a per capita basis in the entire nation. Last week, Governor Gregoire announced that we set a record in 2011 by exporting a whopping $64.6 billion worth of products! That’s a 21 percent increase over the previous year.

Approximately four percent of Washington companies export, compared to a national average of one percent. One in three jobs in Washington state are tied to trade, either directly or indirectly.

Our biggest market is China with exports rising to $11.2 billion, 9% more than 2010. But the $6.4 billion we export to Europe aren’t too shabby either.

The goal of Gov. Gregoire’s Washington Export Initiative launched in 2010 was to increase state exports by 30 percent by 2015. The State’s Department of Commerce says we’re right on track to get there. At the rate we’re going, Washington could very well be exporting up to $100 billion in goods by 2017!

To read this story in Spanish, click here.