That dollar amount reflects a 39% advance from $10.3 billion back in 2020.
Year over year, the overall value of good exported from Mississippi fell by -11.4% compared to $16.1 billion for 2022.
Mississippi ranks among America’s 35 most lucrative exporters by state far behind front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York state and Illinois. The value of Mississippi’s exports equals 0.7% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2023.
Mississippi’s exported products represent 13.6% of the state’s total economic output or Gross Domestic Product in 2023 ($105.1 billion), down from 15.6% one year earlier.
The most valuable products shipped from Mississippi are refined petroleum oils excluding biodiesel, light oils excluding biodiesel, then instruments used for medical, dental or veterinarian tasks. Collectively, those major commodities generated 36.5% of Mississippi’s total export revenues during 2023..
Given Mississippi’s population of 2.94 million people, its total $14.3 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $4,900 for every resident in the Magnolia State. That dollar metric lags the average $5,600 per capita calculated for 2022.
Mississippi’s unemployment rate was 4.1% at the end of February 2024, up from the average 3.3% jobless rate one year earlier per YCharts.
Mississippi’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Mississippi global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Mississippi.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Refined petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: US$3.1 billion (21.9% of Mississippi’s total exports)
- Light petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: $1.14 billion (8%)
- Medical/dental/veterinarian instruments: $947.9 million (6.6%)
- Cotton (uncarded, uncombed): $715.6 million (5%)
- Chemical woodpulp, soda (coniferous): $660.7 million (4.6%)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $579.5 million (4.1%)
- Medical needles, catheters: $494.1 million (3.5%)
- Pigments, titanium dioxide preparations: $412.8 million (2.9%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $336.9 million (2.4%)
- Medium-sized aircraft: $193.3 million (1.4%)
Mississippi’s top 10 exports accounted for three-fifths (60.2%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
The fastest gainers among the listed major product categories were exports of medical needles and catheters (up 54.2% from 2022) ahead of medium-sized aircraft (up 50%), then uncarded and uncombed cotton (up 39.2%).
The severest decliners among Mississippi’s top 10 export products were pigments and titanium dioxide preparations (down -39.4% from 2022), refined petroleum oils excluding biodiesel (down -24.2%), Light petroleum oils excluding biodiesel (down -12.4%), then chemical woodpulp and soda processed from coniferous timber (down -9.1%).
More Key Facts about Mississippi’s International Trade
Mississippi racked up an overall -US$5.62 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2023. That international trade dollar amount reflects a 0.4% increase from -$5.6 billion in red ink for 2022.
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.
All told, products imported from around the globe into Mississippi amounted to $19.9 billion for 2023 down from $21.7 billion in 2022.
Below are Mississippi’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign goods in 2023.
- Crude petroleum oils: US$2.25 billion (8.6% of Mississippi’s total imports)
- Petroleum bitumen: $591 million (3%)
- Artificial joints, parts and accessories: $589 million (3%)
- Pig iron (non-alloyed): $576.4 million (2.9%)
- Medical/dental/veterinarian instruments: $555.3 million (2.8%)
- Motor vehicle gear boxes: $468.2 million (2.3%)
- Miscellaneous seat parts: $389.1 million (2%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $378.3 million (1.9%)
- Integrated electronic circuits (processors, controllers): $326.2 (1.6%)
- Opacifying preparations for x-ray exams: $300.3 million (1.5%)
Mississippi has highly negative net exports in the international trade of non-alloyed pig iron and artificial joints and parts. In turn, these cashflows indicate Mississippi’s competitive disadvantages under related product categories.
Mississippi’s Major Trading Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased three-quarters (74.9%) worth of the total value of products exported from Mississippi during 2023.
- Canada: US$2.2 billion (15.3% of Mississippi’s total exports)
- Mexico: $2 billion (13.8%)
- Panama: $1.64 billion (11.5%)
- Netherlands: $782 million (5.5%)
- China: $780.5 million (5.5%)
- Guatemala: $771.4 million (5.4%)
- Honduras: $746 million (5.2%)
- Belgium: $725.8 million (5.1%)
- Japan: $601.3 million (4.2%)
- Brazil: $474.5 million (3.3%)
Mississippi’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) purchased almost one-third (29.2%) of the overall value of exported goods from the Magnolia State.
Leading importers in Central America (Panama, Guatemala and Honduras) plus South America (Brazil) accounted for 25.4% of Mississippian export sales in 2023.
Mississippian Export Companies
Just one Mississippi-based corporation ranks among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses.
Headquartered in Laurel, Mississippi is a poultry industry behemoth named Sanderson Farms.
Among America’s three biggest poultry producers, Sanderson Farms’ products are also international trade-related products.
Mississippi’s capital is Jackson, a city officially called the City of Jackson and nicknamed “Crossroads of the South”.
See also Oklahoma’s Top 10 Exports, New Jersey’s Top 10 Exports, Missouri’s Top 10 Exports, Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports and Virginia’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on March 27, 2024
Forbes, 2020 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 27, 2024
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2020 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on March 27, 2024
IBIS World, State Economic Profile (including GDP). Accessed on March 27, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 27, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 27, 2024
State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on March 27, 2024
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Mississippi. Accessed on March 27, 2024
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on March 27, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Mississippi Companies. Accessed on March 27, 2024
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on March 27, 2024
Wikipedia, Mississippi. Accessed on March 27, 2024
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on March 27, 2024