That dollar amount results from a 4.4% increase from $40.6 billion four years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, the overall value for State of Georgian exports rose 9.9% compared to $38.6 billion during 2020.
Looking ahead to 2022, the value of State of Georgian exports from January to August 2022 totaled $31.2 billion. The dollar sum for exports from Georgia State is projected to be an annualized $46.7 billion, gaining 10.2% versus the $42.4 billion for 2021.
Georgia ranks among America’s 15 biggest exporters by state behind front-runners including Texas, California, New York and Louisiana. The value of Georgia’s exports equals 2.4% of United States’ overall exported products for 2021.
Based on statistics from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Georgia’s exported products represent 6.2% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product ($683.3 billion in current dollars based on BEA statistics).
Given Georgia’s population of 10.78 million people, its total $42.4 billion in 2021 exports translates to roughly $3,900 for every resident in the Peach State. That dollar metric exceeds the average $3,600 per capita for 2020.
Georgia’s unemployment rate was 2.8% at the end of August 2022, down from 3.7% one year earlier per YCharts.
Georgia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Georgia global shipments during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Georgia.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Aircraft including engines, parts: US$7.2 billion (17.1% of Georgia’s total exports)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $2.2 billion (5.1%)
- Chemical woodpulp (coniferous): $1.19 billion (2.8%)
- Gas turbine parts: $1.13 billion (2.7%)
- Frozen poultry (cuts, offal): $988.8 million (2.3%)
- Kraftliner paper (uncoated/unbleached): $763.9 million (1.8%)
- Cotton (uncarded, uncombed): $736.3 million (1.7%)
- Medical needles, catheters: $646 million (1.5%)
- Kaolinic clays: $516.1 million (1.2%)
- Miscellaneous digital processing units: $493 million (1.2%)
Georgia’s top 10 exports represent 37.5% of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Miscellaneous digit processing units comprise the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, thanks to its 148.1% increase from 2020 to 2021.
In second place were mid-sized automobiles powered by piston engines via a 56.9% advance, ahead of Georgia State’s exports of uncarded cotton (up 25.2%) and kaolinic clays (up 23.6%).
There were 3 decliners year over year namely aircraft including engines and other parts (down -12.3% from 2020), miscellaneous gas turbine parts (down -4.2%) then uncoated or unbleached Kraftliner paper in rolls or sheets (down -1.5%).
More Key Facts about Georgia State’s International Trade
Overall, Georgia incurred a -$81.2 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2021. That dollar amount reflects a 34.9% expansion compared to the -$60.2 billion in red ink in 2020.
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 Georgia’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2021.
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $6.7 billion (5.4% of Georgia’s total imports)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $3.5 billion (2.9%)
- Immunological products in measured doses: $3.1 billion (2.5%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $2.25 billion (1.8%)
- Large automobiles (piston engine): $2.2 billion (1.8%)
- Refined copper cathodes: $1.98 billion (1.6%)
- Television reception equipment: $1.86 billion (1.5%)
- Floor/wall covers, vinyl chloride polymers: $1.83 billion (1.5%)
- Turbo-jets: $1.6 billion (1.3%)
- Wheeled toys including tricycles, pedal cars: $1.2 billion (1%)
Georgia State incurred highly negative net exports in the international trade of automobiles. In turn, these cashflows indicate Georgia’s strong competitive disadvantages under the vehicles-related categories showing the strong impact of foreign-made automotive goods on the Georgian global balance sheet.
Georgia State’s Major Trading Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 57.2% worth of the total value of products exported from Georgia during 2021.
- Canada: $6.3 billion (14.9% of Georgia’s total exports)
- China: $4.2 billion (9.9%)
- Mexico: $3.7 billion (8.7%)
- Germany: $2.5 billion (5.8%)
- Singapore: $2.25 billion (5.3%)
- Netherlands: $1.24 billion (2.9%)
- Japan: $1.21 billion (2.9%)
- India: $1.04 billion (2.4%)
- United Kingdom: $1 billion (2.4%)
- South Korea: $858.6 million (2%)
Georgia’s top trade partners in North America–Canada and Mexico–accounted for almost one quarter (23.6%) of the overall value of exported goods from the Peach State.
The North American percentage compares with the 22.5% share for Georgian products exported to top 10 Asian importing countries (mainland China, Singapore, Japan, India and South Korea).
Another 11.1% was sent to leading importers of Georgian products in Europe.
State of Georgia’s Export Companies
Thirty corporations based in the state of Georgia rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are shown below.
- Acuity Brands (lighting, specialty chemicals)
- AGCO Corp (agricultural equipment)
- Axiall Corp (chlorovinyls, aromatics)
- Carter’s (children’s clothing)
- Flowers Foods (bread, other packaged bakery foods)
- Genuine Parts Company (replacement parts, electrical materials)
- Graphic Packaging Holding Co (commercial products packaging)
- HD Supply Holdings (industrial goods)
- Mohawk Industries (flooring products)
- NCR Corp (electronics, computer hardware, software)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products which each business sells.
Georgia’s state capital is Atlanta, a city nicknamed “The A” or “Hotlanta”.
See also Ohio’s Top 10 Exports, Alabama’s Top 10 Exports, Florida’s Top 10 Exports, Louisiana’s Top 10 Exports and Tennessee’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, Georgia GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on October 19, 2022
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on October 19, 2022
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 19, 2022
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2018 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on October 19, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 19, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 19, 2022
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Georgia. Accessed on October 19, 2022
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on October 19, 2022
Wikipedia, Georgia (U.S. state). Accessed on October 19, 2022
Wikipedia, List of Georgia (U.S. state) companies. Accessed on October 19, 2022
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on October 19, 2022
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Atlanta, United States. Accessed on October 19, 2022
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on October 19, 2022
