That dollar amount reflects a 73.3% boost from $1.36 billion four years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the overall value of South Dakotan exports accelerated by 26.5% compared to $1.86 billion for 2021.
South Dakota ranks among America’s 5 smallest exporters by state far behind front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York State and Illinois. The value of South Dakota’s exports equals 0.1% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2022.
Based on research from Statista, South Dakota’s exported products represent 4.7% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2022 ($49.8 billion).
Given South Dakota’s population of 909,824 people, its total $2.35 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $2,600 for every resident in the Mount Rushmore State. That dollar metric exceeds the average $2,100 per capita one year earlier in 2021.
South Dakota’s unemployment rate was 1.9% at the end of March 2023, down from the state’s 2% jobless rate in January 2022 per YCharts.
South Dakota’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in South Dakota global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from South Dakota.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Ethyl alcohol and other denatured spirits: US$362.6 million (15.4% of South Dakota’s exports)
- Hams (bone in, fresh/chilled): $175.6 million (7.5%)
- Brewing/distilling dregs, waste: $146.8 million (6.2%)
- Solid residues including soya bean oil-cake: $143.3 million (6.1%)
- Beef (boneless, fresh/chilled): $60.1 million (2.6%)
- Bentonite including calcined: $49.8 million (2.1%)
- Corn: $44.3 million (1.9%)
- Pork (frozen): $42.1 million (1.8%)
- Self-adhesive plastic plates, sheets, film: $41.8 million (1.8%)
- Self-propelled works trucks, forklifts: $41.5 million (1.8%)
South Dakota’s top 10 exports accounted for 47.1% of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Ethyl alcohol and other denatured spirits represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 117.5% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales were fresh or chilled hams with bone-in, up by 98.4% trailed by South Dakota’s exports of corn excluding seed corn, propelled by a 91.7%% gain.
There were two decliners among South Dakota’s top 10 export products, namely frozen pork (down -66.4% from 2021) and brewing or distilling dregs and waste (down -14.1%).
More Key Facts about Dakota’s International Trade
South Dakota incurred an overall $479.6 million surplus exporting and importing products during 2022. That dollar amount reflects a 271.2% expansion from $129.2 million in black 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 South Dakota’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2022.
- Prepared beef, offal: US$237.5 million (12.7% of South Dakota’s imports)
- Coniferous wood sawn or chipped lengthwise: $62.8 million (3.4%)
- Unalloyed aluminum (unwrought): $45.5 million (2.4%)
- Potassium chloride: $44.3 million (2.4%)
- Miscellaneous parts of engines, motors: $36.1 million (1.9%)
- Live swine: $32.3 million (1.7%)
- Small portable digital computers: $29.7 million (1.6%)
- Table, kitchen and other household articles: $27.2 million (1.5%)
- Light-emitting diodes (LED): $26.9 million (1.4%)
- Ethylene-alpha-olefin copoly: $24.5 million (1.3%)
South Dakota has positive net exports in the international trade of denatured spirits such as ethyl alcohol, brewing or distilling dregs and waste, and pork including hams. In turn, these cashflows indicate South Dakota’s competitive advantages under those product categories.
South Dakota’s Major Trade Partners”
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 88.7% worth of the total value of products exported from South Dakota during 2022.
- Canada: US$991.7 million (39.1% of South Dakota’s exports)
- Mexico: $522.2 million (22.2%)
- South Korea: $166.4 million (7.1%)
- mainland China: $120.5 million (5.1%)
- Japan: $110.3 million (4.7%)
- Australia: $44 million (1.9%)
- Belgium: $39.1 million (1.7%)
- Germany: $38.6 million (1.6%)
- Brazil: $29.8 million (1.3%)
- Taiwan: $23.6 million (1%)
South Dakota’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) bought over three-fifths (64.4%) of the overall value of exported goods from the Mount Rushmore State.
In contrast, importers in leading Asian countries (South Korea, mainland China, Japan and Taiwan) accounted for 17.9% of South Dakota’s export sales in 2022.
South Dakotan Export Companies
Not one South Dakota-based corporation ranks among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are listed below.
According to Zippia, below are examples of relatively large companies based in South Dakota.
- ANZA Inc. (electronics components)
- Dakota Provisions (poultry-related goods including turkey meat)
- Daktronics (video displays, billboards, scoreboards, sound systems)
- Raven Industries (precision agricultural products, radar systems)
- Trail King Industries (agricultural equipment)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
South Dakota’s capital is Pierre, a small city located on rough river bluffs above the Missouri River’s east bank.
See also Indiana’s Top 10 Exports, Nebraska’s Top 10 Exports, West Virginia’s Top 10 Exports, Delaware’s Top 10 Exports and New Hampshire’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, South Dakota GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on May 8, 2023
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on May 8, 2023
Forbes, 2019 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 8, 2023
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2019 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on May 8, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 8, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 8, 2023
State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on May 8, 2023
Statista, Real gross domestic product of South Dakota. Accessed on May 8, 2023
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: South Dakota. Accessed on May 8, 2023
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on October 30, 2022
Wikipedia, Category:Companies based in South Dakota. Accessed on May 8, 2023
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on May 8, 2023
Wikipedia, South Dakota. Accessed on May 8, 2023
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Pierre, United States. Accessed on May 8, 2023
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on May 8, 2023
Zippia, These are the 100 largest companies in South Dakota. Accessed on May 8, 2023