State medicine exports have risen substantially in recent years, according to a recent UW-Madison report.
The report, from the university’s Division of Extension, highlights the state’s major export categories. It was written by Steven Deller, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.
Over the past two decades, the state’s fastest-growing export sector was pharmaceuticals and medicines, with an average annual growth of 80.8 percent, the report shows. Deller notes much of that growth was seen in the past 10 years or so.
According to the report, the sector exported $100.2 million per year on average between 2002 and 2004. But by the period between 2020 and 2022, that figure had risen to an average of $1.51 billion.
Businesses in the state last year exported more than $27.4 billion to 182 different countries, Deller wrote, noting the “ability of Wisconsin businesses to export to foreign markets remains an important part” of the state economy.
The top export sector for 2022 was agriculture, construction and mining machinery manufacturing, with $1.9 billion in total exports. The next largest — navigational, measuring, electromedical and control instruments manufacturing — exported $1.7 billion, the report shows.
“While these sectors have tended to remain the largest foreign exporters over the past two decades, and there has been some growth in their exports, there are other sectors that have seen stronger export growth,” Deller wrote.
As examples, he points to dairy products, which have seen an average annual increase of 38.9 percent since 2002, and plastic products with 17.7 percent.
See the full report: https://economicdevelopment.extension.wisc.edu/2023/09/07/wisconsins-leading-export-industries/
–By Alex Moe
