Nicknamed the “Pelican State” or the “Bayou State” and found in America’s southeastern region, Louisiana shipped US$93.4 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That dollar amount reflects a -24.3% setback from $123.4 billion four years earlier in 2022.

Year over year, the overall value of Louisianian exports grew by 7.8% compared to $86.6 billion during 2024.

In 2025, Louisiana was America’s fourth-biggest exporter by state behind front-runners Texas, California and New York state, but ahead of fifth-place Illinois.

The value of Louisiana’s exports equals 4.3% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2025 ($2.178 trillion), up from 4.2% for 2024.

Louisiana’s exported products represent 28.2% of the state’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product ($331 billion) in 2025. This percentage outpaces the 26.4% for 2024.

Given Louisiana’s population of 4.62 million people, its total US$93.4 billion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $20,200 for every resident in the Bayou State. That dollar metric exceeds the average $18,850 per capita one year earlier during 2024.

Louisiana’s unemployment rate was 4.2% at the end of December 2025, down from 4.6% one year earlier per YCharts.

Louisiana’s Top 10 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Louisianian global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Louisiana.

Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.

Louisiana’s biggest edible export is a soya beans, one of America’s most valuable exported food products.

1. Natural gas (liquid): US$29 billion (31.1% of total Oregonian exports)
2. Processed petroleum oils not biodiesel: $16.7 billion (17.9%)
3. Soya beans: $8.8 billion (9.4%)
4. Corn: $7.6 billion (8.2%)
5. Crude petroleum oils: $3.45 billion (3.7%)
6. Light petroleum oils: $3.42 billion (3.7%)
7. Solid residues including soya bean oilcake: $2.49 billion (2.7%)
8. Wheat, meslin (excluding durum) $959.2 million (1%)
9. Methanol (methyl alcohol): $915.6 million (1%)
10. Organo-phosphorous derivatives (non-halogenated): $788 million (0.8%)

Louisiana’s top 10 exports approached four-fifths (79.3%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.

Liquefied natural gas represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 66.8% from 2024 to 2025.

The other commodities recording higher export sales were methanol (up 58.3%), corn excluding seed corn (up 46.9%) and light petroleum oils (up 27.9%).

The severest year-over-year declines among Louisiana’s top 10 export product categories were for exports of crude petroleum oils (down -46.8% from 2024) and soya beans (down -23.8%).

More Key Facts about Louisiana’s International Trade

Louisiana recorded an overall US$59.7 billion trade surplus exporting and importing products during 2025. That dollar amount results from an 8.1% boost from $55.2 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2024.

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 Louisiana’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2025 accounting for 49.8% of total Louisianian spending on imports.

1. Refined copper cathodes: US$5.3 billion (15.7% of total Oregonian imports)
2. Crude petroleum oils: $3.9 billion (11.4%)
3. Processed petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: $3.4 billion (10%)
4. Coffee (unroasted, caffeinated): $1.7 billion (4.9%)
5. Urea: $913.3 million (2.7%)
6. Refined palm oil: $590.8 million (1.8%)
7. Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $585.6 million (1.7%)
8. Petroleum bitumen: $515.1 million (1.5%)
9. Voice, image, data machinery: $437.5 million (1.3%)
10. Electrical transformers, liquid dielectric: $432.8 million (1.3%)

Louisiana has highly positive net exports in the international trade of liquefied natural gas, processed petroleum oils, soya beans and corn. In turn, these cashflows indicate Louisiana’s strong competitive advantages under these product categories competing on the global marketplace.

Louisiana’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased under half (48.6%) worth of the total value of products exported from Louisiana during 2025.

1. Netherlands: US$6.7 billion (7.2% of total Louisianian exports)
2. Mexico: $5.7 billion (6.1%)
3. Brazil: $4.9 billion (5.2%)
4. United Kingdom: $4.7 billion (5.1%)
5. Colombia: $4.5 billion (4.8%)
6. Egypt: $4.4 billion (4.7%)
7. Germany: $4 billion (4.3%)
8. Japan: $3.7 billion (4%)
9. France: $3.4 billion (3.7%)
10. Belgium: $3.3 billion (3.6%)

Louisiana’s top trade partners in Europe (Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium) imported a combined 23.8% of the overall value for goods shipped from the Bayou State in 2025.

This compares with a smaller 9.6% worth of exported goods sent from Louisiana to its North American trade partners, Mexico and Canada. Another 10% was sold to leading importers in South America (Brazil and Colombia).

Louisianian Export Companies

Four of the corporations located in Louisiana rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses.

• Albemarle Corporation (specialty chemicals)
• CenturyLink (telecommunications)
• Entergy Corp (electricity, natural gas)
• POOLCORP (swimming pool supplies)

Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products (or services) in which each business deals.
 

Louisiana’s capital is Baton Rouge, the city nicknamed “B.R.” and the “Red Stick” (the latter a translation for le bâton rouge in French).

See also Alabama’s Top 10 Exports, Florida’s Top 10 Exports, California’s Top 10 Exports, Top 10 Exports from Texas and Hawaii’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on March 31, 2026

Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 31, 2026

GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2020 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on March 31, 2026

IBIS World, Louisiana Economic Overview (GDP, population). Accessed on March 31, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 31, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 31, 2026

United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Louisiana. Accessed on March 31, 2026

USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on March 31, 2026

Wikipedia, Category:Companies based in Louisiana. Accessed on March 31, 2026

Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on March 31, 2026

Wikipedia, Louisiana. Accessed on March 31, 2026

YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on March 31, 2026