China buying more South Carolina goods
Associated Press
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Last year, China bought more goods made in South Carolina than ever before, making the country the state's sixth-largest overseas customer.
South Carolina exports to China increased almost 68 percent to $481 million, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Commerce Department.
South Carolina's exports rose to $13.4 billion from less than $12 billion in 2003, according to the Commerce Department.
"I think (South Carolina's increase) is high," said Clarke Thompson, director of international trade for the state Commerce Department. "The growth is pretty spread out."
South Carolina held its rank among the states as the 18th largest exporter. The top exporting industries last year were vehicles, machinery, plastics and rubber.
Electrical machinery exports saw the largest increase: 70 percent over 2003 figures. The category includes everything from insulated wire to loudspeakers and microphones.
Cotton exports jumped 64 percent, fabrics increased 53 percent and meat and wood showed increases of more than 20 percent each.
China took almost 44 percent more organic chemicals from South Carolina manufacturers last year. Most were ingredients to make plastic.
"What's happening is China is just buying like crazy to supply their markets," said Mark Condon, director of the South Carolina World Trade Center. "There's an opportunity out there for sure, going forward. Everybody complains about their exports, but they're importing so much stuff."
China's demand for exports increases because the country's economy is improving and there's more money to spend.
The flood of cheap imports is blamed for widespread job losses in manufacturing, specifically in sectors such as textiles.
Condon said his agency finds the increasing exchange of goods promising.
"Importing is a potential vehicle for wealth creation," he said. "There are suppliers that are located here and there is the need to assemble those cars and import those parts and the full equation is just the growth in trade overall."
There is a neck-and-neck race between Germany and Canada as the top importer of South Carolina goods.
Germany overtook Canada in 2003 as the state's best customer. Canada took a slight lead in 2004, but both countries accounted for about 22 percent of the state's total exports.
"NAFTA is 10 years old, and maybe that's having some effect," said Bill Ward, director of Clemson University's Center for International Trade. "Trade with Canada has been growing anyway, but also the Canadian economy is doing well. And when we work with companies that need a way to break in, we always start out by looking at Canada."
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