Nevada's food & agriculture exports break all-time record

SPARKS —2012 was a historic year for Nevada food and agriculture exports. With all the woes from the Great Recession and our economy slowly chugging along, we now have some positive news to share. For the first time in its history, Nevada agriculture and food exports have broken the $100 million mark! The historic year of 2012 ended with total agriculture and food exports of $114.34 million. This is a year to year increase of 11.8 percent from 2011.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, for every $181,000 in export sales, one job that pays 17 percent better than a job not associated with exporting is created. That means that 631 high end jobs have been created in the Nevada agriculture and food industries due to increased export sales.

“This is great news,” said Jim Barbee, executive director of the Nevada Department of Agriculture. "We will continue to support the Nevada food and agriculture sector and look forward to further growth and increased job creation throughout the industry.”

Food and agriculture products are Nevada’s eighth largest export category (followed by precious metals and stones, electrical machinery, ores, slag, and ash, toys, games and sporting equipment, industrial machinery, optic, photo, medical or surgical equipment and vehicles, except railway or tramway). Almost 80 percent of these exports were consumed by Canada (51 percent), China (20 percent), Mexico (4.6 percent), and Japan (3 percent).

The majority of these exports (89 percent) fall within the following eight product categories: miscellaneous edible preparations, beverages and spirits, prepared cereals, flour and starches, cocoa and cocoa preparations, edible vegetables, live trees and plants, prepared vegetables, fruits and nuts and oil seeds and grains.

Even more exciting news is that total Nevada exports hit historic levels in 2012, breaking the all-time export mark of $10 billion. Total Nevada exports in 2012 were $10.19 billion, a 27.7 percent increase over 2011. Although the economy is still not out of woods, or sagebrush, this news indicates that we are definitely moving in a positive direction.


The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) promotes sustainable agriculture and natural resources, which work to protect food, fiber, human health and safety and environment through effective service, regulatory action and agricultural literacy. The NDA was established in 1915 by Chapter 561 of the Nevada Revised Statutes. It includes the regulatory divisions of Administration, Animal Industry, Measurement Standards, Plant Industry and Resource Protection. For more information about the NDA, visit agri.nv.gov

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