Friday, January 10, 2014

The myth of ag as No. 1, part 2

From the Pa. Department of Agriculture's "Facts for 2013" media release:

Pa. Ag Snapshot: ... 
$1.7 billion in international sales, making agricultural products the state’s leading export.

Ahem. From Export.gov:

Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exporting Industries for 2012
Rank
Industry
2012 Exports (US$)
2011 Exports (US$)
% Change
1
Chemicals
7.78 B
7.86 B
1% Decrease
2
Machinery, except electrical
4.87 B
4.85B
0%
3
Primary Metal Manufacturing
3.84 B
4.23B
9% Decrease
4
Computers & Electronic Products
3.79 B
4.09 B
7% Decrease
5
Transportation Equipment
3.15 B
3.38 B
7% Decrease
6
Electrical Equipment, Applications & Components
1.86 B
1.73 B
4% Increase
7
Food Manufactures
1.75 B
1.53 B
14% Increase
8
Fabricated Metal Products, NESOI
1.65 B
1.49 B
11% Increase
9
Miscellaneous Manufactured Commodities
1.58 B
1.39 B
14% Increase
10
Minerals & Ores
1.40 B
2.96 B
53% Decrease

Also notice the delicate phrasing in the fact sheet: "1 in 7 jobs are related to agriculture."

Sigh.

1 comment:

  1. Gee, Tim, nearly all of us _use_ agricultural products while we work.
    And categories like "Chemicals" and "Machinery" unfairly lump together
    all sorts of products, unlike the well-defined "Agricultural Products".
    :-)
    Clif

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