SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - With exports valued at $70.5 billion, Illinois was the fourth largest exporter of goods in the United States in 2021. In honor of World Trade Month, which has been observed in the U.S. each May since 1938, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced international business development opportunities to assist companies that are starting or continuing foreign sales. 

As part of its assistance, the DCEO’s Office of Trade and Investment (OTI) will coordinate Illinois’ business presence at nine international trade events on four continents in 2022.

“Illinois’ network of diverse industries and workforce have made Illinois a force in the global export economy, propelling our products around the world to over 200 countries,” Pritzker said, in a news release announcing the initiative. “From trade shows to development opportunities, my administration is proud to help Illinois companies expand their international market share during World Trade Month and beyond.”

As part of the DCEO’s World Trade Month initiative, $900,000 in program funds to support companies’ foreign market sales efforts have been made available through the U.S. Small Business Association. Companies can apply for a portion of the funding via the Illinois State Trade and Export Promotion (ISTEP) program. 

“The Office of Trade and Investment deployed over $2.5 million in funding to Illinois exporters since 2019, helping leverage additional resources to grow companies in the state,” said Margo Markopoulos, Deputy Director of the OTI and ISTEP Program.  “The ISTEP financial assistance program continues to support over 200 small businesses annually by helping businesses increase sales, create new jobs, and increase Illinois’ international profile.”

One Illinois company that has benefitted from the programs offered by the OTI is Ringspann, a Franklin Park-based manufacturer of power transmission components for belt conveyors, bucket elevators, bucket wheel excavators and other components of mine hoists and crushers. This is according to company president Dave Ward, who is currently overseeing a “significant” expansion and investment project for Ringspann.

“Part of the reason we have been able to get to this point is because of the help of the Office of Trade and Investment,” Ward said. “By participating in various missions with the state’s assistance we have been able to realize a significant enough growth in sales to warrant a multimillion-dollar investment in expanding our facility in Illinois, with new equipment, additional R&D, a new warehouse in South America, and seven new full-time hires.”

The initiative comes at a time when current new-crop export sales commitments for corn and soybeans are at record levels for this time of the marketing year, noted Joe Janzen, agricultural economist for the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics.

“New-crop 2022/23 export sales for corn and soybeans show corn sales of approximately 196 million bushels and soybean sales of about 412 million bushels as of May 5. Both are record levels for this time of year. While there is obviously a long way to go until the 2022-23 export campaign is final, existing sales suggest current high prices have yet to seriously deter corn and soybean importers from looking to the US for new-crop supplies,” Janzen said, in a May 16 article published by farmdoc DAILY.

The economist added that expectations are for corn and soybeans to remain “relatively scarce” during the next marketing year due to continued strength in use-- especially for exports. 

Illinois soybeans are finding new markets abroad, thanks to the efforts of the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) and the U.S. Soybean Export Council. During the marketing year 2020-2021, a record 61.65 million metric tons of whole soybeans, 12.3 MMT of soybean meal and 781,766 MT of soybean oil were exported from the United States, due in part to growth in markets such as Egypt (a 178 percent increase), Ecuador (298 percent), Vietnam (91 percent) and Guatemala (28 percent).

“Illinois is one of the best options for soy exports as we have access to global markets via rivers, container shipping and Class 1A railroads,” said Eric Woodie, trade analyst for the ISA. “We must communicate that message worldwide and with organizations that specialize in international soy relationships, then build and maintain those alliances.”