Maine exports to China, Japan have declined over past two years

A trade delegation from Maine will head to China and Japan later this year, hoping to bolster trade where it has been on the decline in recent years.

The drop in 2014 was due mostly to declines in paper-related exports, like wood pulp.

That’s appeared to turn around so far in the first two months of 2015 in China, where wood pulp exports were at $23.3 million through February, compared with about $16.5 million for the same period last year.

That change so far this year would reverse a drop in the value of wood pulp exports to China from 2013 to 2014. It remained the state’s most valuable category of exported goods to China in 2014, despite a 31.8 percent drop in value from the previous year.

Meanwhile, prepared and raw seafood product exports rose during that time.

To Japan, exports of pharmaceutical products and industrial machinery were up in 2014 from the previous year, as was the overall less substantial category of furniture and bedding.

“Special classification provisions” (under harmonized tariff code 98) include a range of different items, including items that were previously imported for repairs or alterations, articles donated for relief aid and military apparel.

Darren Fishell

About Darren Fishell

Darren is a Portland-based reporter for the Bangor Daily News writing about the Maine economy and business. He's interested in putting economic data in context and finding the stories behind the numbers.