Nevada’s food and agricultural exports have surged by 17 percent in the last two years.

Food and agriculture products are Nevada’s ninth largest export category followed by precious metals and stones. The top four markets for Nevada food and agriculture products in 2013 were Canada, China, Mexico and Japan.

The majority of these exports – 94.8 percent – comprise 10 product categories that include cereals, flour and starches, beverages and spirits, grains and seed, fruits and vegetables, trees, plants and sugar-based products.

Export sales in 2012 were $117.4 million, while 2013 exports were $137 million.

“This is great news for Nevada’s food and agriculture industries,” Jim Barbee, director of the Nevada Department of Agriculture, said in a statement. “We look forward to further growth and increased job creation throughout the sector.”

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, for every $181,000 in export sales, one job is created and pays 17 percent better than a job not associated with exporting. In Nevada, that means 756 high end jobs were created in 2013 due to the state’s food and agriculture exports.

State exports in 2013 for all industries totaled $8.7 billion, down from $10.26 billion in 2012. The largest decrease was seen in precious metals and stones, which could be explained by a drop in the price of gold.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report