State’s Quarterly Exports Rise 17.5%

California’s exports of manufactured goods and other products soared 17.5% during the first three months of this year, providing additional momentum for the state’s robust economy.

The strong increase reported Wednesday, which brought first-quarter product exports to $29.1 billion, reflected improved business with the state’s top trading partners all over the world, especially Mexico and Japan.

“It shows very widespread growth,” said Tom Lieser, executive director of the UCLA Anderson Business Forecast. “Exports are making a strong contribution to the expansion” in the California economy.

Lieser cautioned that the first-quarter increase partly reflected a weak showing a year earlier, when California businesses continued to suffer from economic tumult in Asia. But now, several key Asian nations are booming.

“California is in luck,” said G.U. Krueger, economist for California Assn. of Realtors. “Before, when the Asian crisis hit, California benefited from the national economy doing well. Now that the national economy appears to be slowing down, export demand is increasing again.”

This is the first time California has enjoyed export increases of this scale since 1995, when product exports climbed 19% from the 1994 total. Last year, the state’s exports rose 2.4% to $107.4 billion.

Among the most encouraging signs was the 36.5% rise in exports to Mexico, which since last year has been California’s leading trade partner. Also impressive was the 14% increase with Japan, whose weak economy has shown signs of life lately and remains the state’s No. 2 foreign trade market.

Rounding out the top five markets were Canada, up 10.6%; South Korea, up 46.5%; and Taiwan, up 28.4%.

The product export figures account for about 10% of California’s business activity. They include industries such as computers, agriculture and aerospace, which long have been among the state’s major economic engines.

California’s top three export industries, all technology-related, recorded double-digit gains. The top category--industrial machinery, which includes computers and other office equipment--was up 31.6%. The No. 2 category, electronic and electrical equipment, rose 21%, while third-ranked instruments and related products climbed 13.4%.