That dollar amount results from a 19.2% advance from $13.5 billion four years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the overall value of products exported from Missouri grew by 3.8% compared to $15.5 billion during 2021.
Missouri ranks at the bottom of America’s 30 most lucrative exporters by state, lagging front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York State and Illinois. The value of Missouri’s exports equals 0.9% of United States’ overall exported products for 2022.
Based on research from Statista, Missouri’s exported products represent 5.3% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product ($300.7 billion).
Given Missouri’s population of 6.178 million people, its total $16.1 billion in 2022 exports translates to $2,600 for every resident in the Show Me State. That dollar metric exceeds the average $2,500 per capita one year earlier in 2021.
Missouri’s unemployment rate was 2.5% at the end of March 2023, down from 2.7% at February 2022 per YCharts.
Missouri’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Missouri global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Missouri.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Small gas-powered trucks: US$1.9 billion (11.8% of Missouri’s total exports)
- Soya beans: $710.7 million (4.4%)
- Herbicides, anti-sprouting products: $484.1 million (3%)
- Heterocyclics with unfused pyridine ring: $315 million (2%)
- Corn: $289.5 million (1.8%)
- Heterocyclics with nitrogen hetero-atoms: $248.9 million (1.5%)
- Civilian aircraft or engines, other parts: $198 million (1.2%)
- Dog and cat food: $189.6 million (1.2%)
- Miscellaneous chemical industry products: $176.8 million (1.1%)
- Milk and cream in powder or granules: $162.7 million (1%)
Missouri’s top 10 exports accounted for 29.1% of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Herbicides and anti-sprouting products represent the fastest grower among Missouri’s top 10 export categories, up by 47.3% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales were heterocyclics with unfused pyridine ring, thanks to their 29.7% appreciation.
Missouri’s shipments of soya beans posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 29.2%, ahead of exported miscellaneous chemical industry products (up 17.4%) then dog and cat food (up 12.4%).
The severest decliners among Missouri’s top 10 export products in 2022 were corn excluding seed corn (down -34.8% from 2021) and civilian aircraft plus aircraft parts including engines (down -25.5%).
More Key Facts about Missouri’s International Trade
Overall, Missouri incurred an -$11.9 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2022. That dollar amount reflects a 31.4% year-over-year expansion from -$9.1 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 Missouri’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2022.
- Crude petroleum oils: US$3.9 billion (14.1% of Missouri’s total imports)
- Single-phase AC electric motors: $485.9 million (1.7%)
- Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus: $457.8 million (1.6%)
- Computed tomography apparatus: $393.1 million (1.4%)
- Miscellaneous medications in dosage: $388.3 million (1.4%)
- Non-halogenated organo-phosphorous derivatives: $380.8 million (1.4%)
- X-ray medical, surgical or veterinarian apparatus: $351.2 million (1.3%)
- Spark-ignition reciprocating piston engine: $349.1 million (1.2%)
- Semi-trailer truck tractors $346.8 million (1.2%)
- Air or gas pumps, compressors, fans or related parts: $296.4 million (1.1%)
Missouri has highly negative net exports in the international trade of crude petroleum oils, medical equipment, and medications. In turn, these cashflows indicate Missouri’s competitive disadvantages under these product categories.
Missouri’s Major International Trade Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that bought 98.6% worth of the total value of products exported from Missouri during 2022.
- Canada: US$5.7 billion (44.1% of Missouri’s total exports)
- Mexico: $3.4 billion (26.3%)
- Germany: $679.3 million (5.3%)
- mainland China: $675.7 million (5.3%)
- Brazil: $436.2 million (3.4%)
- South Korea: $430.7 million (3.3%)
- Japan: $393.8 million (3.1%)
- France: $360.1 million (2.8%)
- Belgium: $327.6 million (2.5%)
- United Kingdom: $321.6 million (2.5%)
Missouri’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) purchased 70.4% of the overall value of exported goods from the Show Me State.
In contrast, 13.1% of Missouri’s exports were sent to leading importers in Europe (France, Belgium and the UK).
Another 11.7% were bought by major Missourian trade partners located in Asia (mainland China, South Korea and Japan).
Missourian Export Companies
Twenty-five of Missouri-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are listed below.
- Arch Coal (coal)
- Caleres (footwear)
- Cerner Corp (health technology devices, hardware, services)
- Leggett & Platt (bedding, furniture, materials, auto seating)
- Monsanto Co. (herbicides, pesticides, biotechnology)
- Olin Corp (ammunition, chemicals, copper alloys)
- O’Reilly Automotive (automotive parts, accessories)
- Peabody Energy Corp (coal)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
Missouri’s capital is Jefferson City, nicknamed “Jeff”.
See also Oklahoma’s Top 10 Exports, New Jersey’s Top 10 Exports, Oregon’s Top 10 Exports, Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports and Virginia’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, Missouri GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on May 4, 2023
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on May 4, 2023
Forbes, 2019 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 4, 2023
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2019 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on May 4, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 4, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 4, 2023
State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on May 4, 2023
Statista, Real gross domestic product of Missouri. Accessed on May 4, 2023
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Missouri. Accessed on May 4, 2023
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on May 4, 2023
Wikipedia, Category:Companies based in Missouri. Accessed on May 4, 2023
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on May 4, 2023
Wikipedia, Missouri. Accessed on May 4, 2023
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Jefferson City, United States. Accessed on May 4, 2023
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on May 4, 2023