That dollar amount results from a 22.8% advance from $22.2 billion four years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from Minnesota accelerated by 16.2% compared to $23.5 billion for 2021.
Minnesota ranks just below America’s 20 most lucrative exporters by state lagging front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York State and Illinois. The value of Minnesota’s exports equals 1.3% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2022.
Based on research from Statista, Minnesota’s exported products represent 7.8% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2022 ($350.3 billion).
Given Minnesota’s population of 5.717 million people, its total $27.3 billion in 2022 exported goods translates to roughly $5,700 for every resident in the North Star State. That dollar metric exceeds the average $4,100 per capita for 2021.
Minnesota’s unemployment rate was 2.8% at the end of March 2023, up from 2.4% one year earlier per YCharts.
Minnesota’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Minnesota global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Minnesota.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Light petroleum oils: US$2.7 billion (10% of Minnesota’s total exports)
- Corn: $822.6 million (3%)
- Crude petroleum oils: $808.1 million (3%)
- Medical needles, catheters: $732.4 million (2.7%)
- Electronic integrated circuits (not processors nor controllers): $701 million (2.6%)
- Parts for filtering/purifying machines: $544.5 million (2%)
- Medical/dental/veterinarian instruments: $507.4 million (1.9%)
- Agglomerated iron ores: $505.5 million (1.9%)
- Civilian aircraft, engines or other parts: $439.8 million (1.6%)
- Artificial human body parts, accessories: $436.3 million (1.6%)
Minnesota’s top 10 exports accounted for well over one-quarter (30%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Corn (excluding seed corn) was the fastest grower among Minnesota’s top 10 export categories, propelled by a 142.5% advance from 2021 to 2022.
In second place was exported artificial human body parts or accessories (up 76.1%) ahead of Minnesotan shipments of light petroleum oils (up 66.2%), medical, dental or veterinarian instruments (up 17.9%) and electronic integrated circuits (up 15.7%).
The lone decliner among Minnesota’s top 10 export products was for medical needles and catheters, dragged down by a -16.7% downtick from 2021.
More Key Facts about Minnesota’s International Trade
Minnesota incurred an overall -$15.4 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2022. That dollar amount reflects a 71% acceleration from -$9 billion in red ink for 2021.
Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.
Below are Minnesota’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2022.
- Crude petroleum oils: US$9.2 billion (21.6% of Minnesota’s total imports)
- Natural gas (gaseous): $1.35 million (3.2%)
- Heart pacemakers: $900.2 million (2.1%)
- Electrical energy: $723.8 million (1.7%)
- Wheeled toys (tricycles, scooters, pedal cars, carriages): $564.2 million (1.3%)
- Artificial human body parts, accessories: $554.7 million (1.3%)
- Medical needles, catheters: $502.3 million (1.2%)
- Electronic integrated circuits (processors, controllers): $427.9 million (1%)
- Electronic integrated circuits (not processors nor controllers): $407.9 million (1%)
- Medical/dental/veterinarian instruments: $407.3 million (1%)
Minnesota has highly negative net exports in the international trade of crude petroleum oils, natural gas and heart pacemakers. In turn, these cashflows indicate Minnesota’s competitive disadvantages under those product categories.
Minnesota’s Major Trade Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased approaching three-quarters (72.6%) worth of the total value of products exported from Minnesota during 2022.
- Canada: US$8.94 billion (32.9% of Minnesota’s total exports)
- Mexico: $2.8 billion (10.3%)
- mainland China: $2.44 billion (8.9%)
- Japan: $1.1 billion (4.1%)
- Germany: $966.8 million (3.5%)
- South Korea: $793.8 million (2.9%)
- Netherlands: $777.2 million (2.9%)
- Belgium: $726.2 million (2.7%)
- Taiwan: $610.2 million (2.2%)
- Ireland: $589.2 million (2.2%)
Minnesota’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) purchased over two-fifths (43.1%) of the overall value of exported goods from the North Star State.
In comparison, 18.2% of Minnesota’s export sales went to top customers in Asia (mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan).
Another 11.2% worth was bought by leading importers in Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland).
Minnesotan Export Companies
Twenty-four of Minnesota-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are listed below.
- C.H. Robinson (transportation services, third-party logistics)
- Donaldson Company (air filters, filtration engines, gas turbines)
- Fastenal Company (industrial/safety/construction supplies)
- H.B. Fuller Company (industrial adhesives)
- Hormel Foods Corp (deli meats, ethnic foods, spam)
- Land O’Lakes (dairy foods, animal nutritition, crop protection)
- Patterson Companies (medical/dental/veterinarian goods)
- Polaris Industries (snow mobiles, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles)
- The Mosaic Company (concentrated phosphate, potash)
- The Toro Company (lawn mowers, snow blowers, irrigation items)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
Minnesota’s capital is Saint Paul, a city with nicknames like “STP” and “the Saintly City”.
See also New Mexico’s Top 10 Exports, New Jersey’s Top 10 Exports, Missouri’s Top 10 Exports, Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports and Mississippi’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, Minnesota GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on May 6, 2023
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on May 6, 2023
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 6, 2023
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2019 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on May 6, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 6, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 6, 2023
Statista, Real gross domestic product of Minnesota. Accessed on May 6, 2023
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Minnesota. Accessed on May 6, 2023
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on May 6, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Minnesota Companies. Accessed on May 6, 2023
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on May 6, 2023
Wikipedia, Minnesota. Accessed on May 6, 2023
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Saint Paul, United States. Accessed on May 6, 2023
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on May 6, 2023