By Alice Ancona, Senior Vice President & COO, World Trade Center Miami

Begging forgiveness from Gabriel García Márquez, trade has recently gone through a rather extraordinary shift.

Covid-19 pandemic has been the ultimate disruptor for trade. We really can’t compare – apples to apples – with any other period in time.

Below are some highlights of year-to-date (YTD) data for Florida for February. March trade data will be released in a couple of weeks and will be very telling. Be sure to check back with us for a trade update when those figures come out.

For Feb YTD we are up in imports by 3% in value. Origin exports are up by 3.41% in value. Its important to note that China was closed for production and some of the products where we see an increase have been traditionally sourced from China.

Off the bat – top import and import percentage increase for Florida is organic chemicals which have medical, pharmaceutical, biochemical, or bioengineering applications. In Feb 2019 we imported $83.5M but in Feb 2020 we imported $1.59B about a 1,800% increase.

IMPORTS

Products | Feb 2019 vs Feb 2020:

Notable decreases

Other notable increases

(Some of this is demand related. Another thing to keep in mind is that factories were closed in China so we could not source either)

27% decrease in aircraft parts
24% decrease in footwear
19% decrease in ships and boats
17.5% decrease in vehicles

73% increase in cereals

29% increase in edible preparations which include: yeasts, prepared baking powders, sauces and preparations, condiments, seasonings, soups, broths, ice cream

28% increase in milling products (products like starch and gluten used to make bread and baked goods, etc.)

26% increase in edible vegetables

21% increase in sugar and sugar confectionery

Trading Partners | Feb 2019 vs Feb 2020:

	Up by 1,500% – Ireland is Florida’s 20^th ranked import trade partner. This is unusual increase and likely COVID-19 related. Ireland exports pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Half of the world’s ventilators are made in Ireland. Notable increases are organic chemicals and iron or steel.
	Up by 105% – UK is Florida’s 11^th ranked import partner. This was also an unusual increase and likely COVID-19 related. UK is a producer of pharma, med-tech and medical devices. Notable increases are organic and inorganic chemicals and medicaments.
	Up by 105.7% – Hungry. In value this not a huge leap from $23M to $47M and Hungry is not a top 50 import trade partner for Florida. This increase is unusual as its likely COVID-19 related. Hungary’s primary exports are Packaged Medicaments which are also known as medicine, antibiotics, penicillin, insulin, and other related items.
	Up by 41% – Netherlands. The Netherlands is Florida’s 26^th ranked import trading partner (not high ranked). This also likely COVID-19 related, notable increases are in fish and seafood and resins and other extracts which can be used in the production of medicaments
	Up by 34.5% – Vietnam. Vietnam is Florida’s 12th ranked trading partner. They are an alternative manufacturing center to China so once Chinese factories were closed, we shifted to importing from Vietnam. Much of what we import is furniture, electric machinery and footwear. This is likely ordered from before and may also be attributed to tariffs imposed on certain products in China.
	Down by 23.8% – China is our #1 source of imports (like many other states). Note that China was closed January and February and has recently restarted production.
	Down by -18% – Japan – #2 ranked import partner for Florida. Top imports include automotive (vehicles and parts) and electronics.
	Down by -46% – Brazil is Florida’s 3^rd ranked import trading partner. Top imports are aircraft and aviation equipment.
	Down by -22.7% – France – Florida’s 8^th ranked import trading partner. Top imports include aircraft and aviation equipment.

Florida Origin Exports TO THE WORLD

(products that Florida makes):

Products | Feb 2019 vs Feb 2020:

Notable Increases:

Notable Decreases:

Up 140.9% – Live Animals

Up 62.7% – Iron & steel

Up 39% – Pharma

Up 38.45% -Aircraft parts

Up 26.7% – Inorganic Chemicals

Up 17.8% – Beverages and spirits

Down by 28% – Fertilizers

Down by 21% – Arms & Munitions

Down by 17% – Chemical Products

Down by 14% – Ships & boats

Down by 8.6% – Electrical Equipment

Trading Partners | Feb 2019 vs Feb 2020:

	Up by 62.59% – Japan. Notable increases: 4,000% increase in fertilizer, 480% increase in paper and paperboard, 390% increase in boats and ships.
	Up 50.46% – UK. Notable increases: 11,000% increase in seeds and plants, 1,800% increase in footwear, 600% increase in manufactured articles (such as household goods).
	Up by 47% – Italy. Notable increases: 3,800% increase in fruits and vegetables, 3,000% increase in meat, 1,900% increase in woven fabrics.
	Up by 44% – India. Notable increases: 12,000% increase in articles of leather, 10,000% increase in mineral oil, 2,400% increase in aircraft and aircraft parts.
	Up by 29.78% – El Salvador. Notable increases: 1,700% increase in precious and semiprecious stones and metals, 800% increase in special woven fabrics.
	Up by 364% – New Zealand (very unusual). Notable increases: 2,400% increase aircraft and aircraft parts, 1,400 % increase apparel, 600% increase in inorganic chemicals as well as articles of iron and steel, 334% increase pharmaceuticals.
	Up by 178% – Egypt (very unusual) Notable increases: 4,500% increase in paper and paperboard, 3,700% increase in dairy products, 620% increase in electric machinery, 300% increase in Florida exports of medical equipment.

Export markets that were down are:

	Down by 26% – China
	Down by 22.8% – Paraguay
	Down by 24% – Argentina
	Down by 14% – Mexico
	Down by nearly 10% – Chile and Germany