Editorial

According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), state exports to Africa totaled $251 million in 2014, a 3 percent increase. Not much until one realizes that exports to Egypt alone (yes, it is in Africa) grew by 36 percent in 2014 to $36 million, and a staggering 122 percent increase to Angola, to a record $19 million. Algeria (in the news just last week as terrorists targeted tourists) was a standout, taking in $32 million in Minnesota exports.

In other words, three countries accounted for about a third of Minnesota’s exports to Africa in 2014. There is much more room for trade both ways.