North Carolina exports continue to grow, according to a news release issued Friday by Gov. Pat McCrory’s office.

In the first half of 2014, the state’s exported goods and services increased 2.7 percent, compared with the same period in 2013, increasing from $14.9 billion to $15.3 billion, the release stated.

Some of that merchandise is going through the Port of Wilmington.

McCrory cited data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, which show that North Carolina’s export sales for the first half of 2014 grew significantly in a number of markets. Examples are South Africa (147.2 percent), Dominican Republic (38.7 percent), Belgium (29.9 percent), Hong Kong (27.6 percent), Saudi Arabia (26.9 percent), Mexico (18.9 percent) and Japan (6.1 percent).

Key merchandise export categories include chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, computer and electrical products, and textiles, the release stated, adding that electrical equipment, appliances and components, food products and wood products are also showing high growth.

This announcement echoes an upward trend in container traffic that the Port of Wilmington reported earlier this month.

In an Aug. 15 news release, N.C. Ports Authority officials said that Wilmington’s container volume at the start of the ports’ new fiscal year in July was 26 percent greater than it was a year earlier.  

“The growth was fueled by a wider scope of port calls in the Ports’ Asian service lane, expanded service offerings in the Latin American trade lane, and increased tonnage in the European trade services lane,” the release stated.

“We are aggressively working to grow the business and our container volumes are a result of our commitment to meeting our customer demands for increased service offerings," Ports Authority CEO Paul Cozza said in the release. "I am looking forward to a strong year.”

“North Carolina products are in greater demand across the world,” McCrory said in Friday’s release. “We will continue to work to make it easier for North Carolina companies to market their goods and services overseas.”