St. Paul, MN - Yesterday, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) released its annual exports report. According to DEED, Minnesota exports of agricultural, mining and manufactured goods were valued at $23.5 billion last year, a $3.4 billion drop or 13%, from 2024. While U.S. exports grew 6% in 2025, about half of all states experienced declines.
Exports of mineral fuel and oil to Canada — which surged in 2024 and were the dominant contributor to the state's export growth that year — fell by $1.7 billion in 2025 and drove about half of the overall exports decline. This category includes products such as motor fuel or lubricants. Canadian exports suffered the biggest setback, down 29% year over year. The state also saw significant dips in exports to China (down 20%) and Mexico (down 14%). However, the company did see a 30% increase in business with the Netherlands, but it was still about 10% of the value the state exported to Canada.
While vehicles (down 19%), machinery (down 10%) and optic and medical products (down 5%) fell significantly over the year, electrical equipment exports showed resilience (up 7%). Dairy, eggs, honey (up 62%), oil seeds, misc. grains (up 15%) and pharmaceuticals (up 23%) grew solidly.
During the same period, New York's exports grew 63% as the state ranked third in export market size. Texas exports saw a 1% dip, but the state maintained the top spot in the U.S. with some $450 billion in exports. Meanwhile, California, the second-largest state in the U.S., saw export growth of 2% in 2025, eclipsing $188.4 billion.
Minnesota exporters' sales struggled in North America (down 24%) and Asia (down 9%). Regions that showed promising growth in 2025 included European markets outside the EU, driven by the U.K. and Switzerland, as well as the Caribbean and South America, led by Argentina, Chile and the Dominican Republic.
"Our office provides comprehensive services to help Minnesota's hard-working exporters pursue international growth opportunities and establish new connections in foreign markets," said Minnesota Trade Office (MTO) Executive Director Gabrielle Gerbaud. "Our trade and business development missions to European countries in 2025 created new partnerships, nurtured longstanding relationships and brought visibility to Minnesota's innovative industries."
In a statement, DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek said, "The federal administration's erratic tariffs and aggressive foreign policies that began last year continue to take a toll on Minnesota companies trying to plan their import and export strategies."
The full report is available here: https://mn.gov/deed/data/economic-analysis/export-stats/current-past/.
