That dollar amount reflects a 52.8% gain from $460 million four years earlier during 2019.
Year over year, the overall value of Hawaiian exports for 2022 accelerated by 106.9% compared to $339.8 million in 2021.
Hawaii’s most valuable exports include biodiesel plus light petroleum oil mixes accounting for over a third (36.3%) of the state’s total revenues from exports. Other major Hawaiian exports are aircraft including engines and similar parts (18.3%), iron or steel scrap (8.4%) as well as cold-water shrimp (2.4%).
Geographically distant, Hawaii is America’s smallest exporter by state well behind front-runners including Texas, California, New York and Louisiana. The value of Hawaii’s exports equals just 0.02% worth of United States’ overall exported products for 2022, the same percentage as one year earlier.
Also, consider that Hawaii’s exported products comprise the equivalent to 0.934% of the tourism-based state’s total economic output in 2022 known as Gross Domestic Product ($75.3 billion).
Given Hawaii’s population of 1.44 million people, its total $703.1 million in 2022 exports translates to roughly $488 for every resident in the Aloha State. That metric eclipses the average $235 per capita one year earlier during 2021.
Hawaii’s unemployment rate was 3.2% at December 2022, down from 4.3% one year earlier per YCharts.
Hawaii’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Hawaii global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Hawaii.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Biodiesel: US$255.3 million (36.3% of total Hawaiian exports)
- Civilian aircraft including engines, parts: $128.7 million (18.3%)
- Iron or steel scrap: $58.9 million (8.4%)
- Light oil mixes excluding biodiesel: $41.8 million (5.9%)
- Cold-water shrimps, prawns: $16.9 million (2.4%)
- Aluminum waste, scrap : $16.2 million (2.3%)
- Macadamia nuts in shell: $15.6 million (2.2%)
- Unsweetened and non-flavored waters: $11.5 million (1.6%)
- Cookies, sweet biscuits: $10.9 million (1.5%)
- Copper waste, scrap: $8.9 million (1.3%)
Hawaii’s top 10 exports amounted to four-fifths (80.3%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Biodiesel represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 609.3% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales were Hawaiian shipments of civilian aircraft including engines and other parts, a product category which appreciated by 188.3%. Hawaii’s exports of cookies plus sweet biscuits rose by 101.5% ahead of the 92.1% advance for exported macadamia nuts in shell.
There were 3 year-over-year decliners among Hawaii’s top 10 export products. Sales of Hawaii’s exported cold-water shrimps and prawns fell -21.5% compared to 2021. Copper waste and scrap dropped -15.5% while unsweetened and non-flavored waters including ice or snow shrank -9% year over year.
More Key Facts about Hawaiian International Trade
Overall, Hawaii incurred a -$1.8 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2022. That dollar amount reflects a -17.6% annual decrease compared to the -$2.2 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 Hawaii’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2022. All told, Hawaiian imports cost a total $2.5 billion for 2022.
- Light oil mixes excluding biodiesel: US$455.7 million (18.1% of total Hawaiian imports)
- Refined petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: $183.7 million (7.3%)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $155 million (6.2%)
- Crude petroleum oils: $152.4 million (6.1%)
- Lithium ion batteries: $123.8 million (4.9%)
- Large automobiles (piston engine): $107.4 million (4.3%)
- Petroleum gases: $44.9 million (1.8%)
- Tuna, skipjack: $34.3 million (1.4%)
- Passenger vehicles (with internal combustion/electrical motors): $32.2 million (1.3%)
- Photovoltaic solar modules, panels: $30.9 million (1.2%)
Hawaii racks up highly negative net exports in the international trade of petroleum oils and automobiles. In turn, these cashflows indicate Hawaii’s competitive disadvantages under those product categories.
Major Trade Partners Buying Hawaiian Exports
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchase well over four-fifths (86.9%) worth of the total value of products exported from Hawaii during 2022.
- Singapore: $262.5 million (37.3% of Hawaii’s total exports)
- Japan: $102 million (14.5%)
- Hong Kong: $77 million (11%)
- Bangladesh: $35 million (5%)
- South Korea: $28.3 million (4%)
- India: $26.6 million (3.8%)
- China: $25.3 million (3.6%)
- Germany: $20.4 million (2.9%)
- Canada: $18.1 million (2.6%)
- Australia: $16 million (2.3%)
Hawaii’s top trade partners located in Asia consumed almost four-fifths (79.2%) of the overall value of goods exported from the Aloha State during 2022.
In contrast, importers in North America (mostly Canada but also Mexico) bought 2.9% of Hawaii’s total exported product sales.
Hawaii Export Companies
Two Hawaii-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Listed below are both firms that have their headquartered in Hawaii’s capital city, Honolulu.
- Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (airliner for passengers, cargo)
- Hawaiian Electric Industries (electricity)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the products or services which in each business deals, some of which are related to international trade.
Hawaii’s capital is Honolulu, a city nicknamed “Crossroads of the Pacific” and “Sheltered Bay”.
See also America’s Top 20 Export States, United States Top 10 Exports and Top United States Trade Balances
Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on March 11, 2023
Forbes, 2017 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 11, 2023
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2017 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on March 11, 2023
IBIS World, Hawaii – State Economic Profile (including GDP). Accessed on March 11, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 11, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 11, 2023
State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on March 11, 2023
United States Census Bureau, U. S. Exports of Goods by State, Based on Origin of Movement, by NAICS-Based Product. Accessed on March 11, 2023
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Hawaii. Accessed on March 11, 2023
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on March 11, 2023
Wikipedia, Category: Companies. Accessed on March 11, 2023
Wikipedia, Hawaii. Accessed on March 11, 2023
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on March 11, 2023
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Honolulu, United States. Accessed on March 11, 2023
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on March 11, 2023
