Economic development officials say businesses in Iowa exported 10 percent more products last year than the year before, an increase that's more than double the national export growth of about 4.5 percent for the same period.
Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham says the state exported to countries around the world products valued at more than $14.6 billion in 2012 up from $13.3 billion worth of goods the year before.
Durham says more than 2,500 companies in Iowa export goods. About 84 percent of Iowa exporters are small- to medium-sized companies.
Durham says the fact that Iowa's export growth significantly outpaced the nation's shows Iowa companies can successfully compete in a global marketplace.
She says Iowa's exporting companies supported about 5,000 additional jobs in 2012.
