                                ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996           TAG: 9609160018
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: A-4  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER

VALLEY IS BIG IN FOREIGN SALES

Compared with the nation as a whole, the Roanoke region was a hotbed of export activity in 1994, with local companies boosting foreign sales at nearly twice the U.S. rate, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Companies in Roanoke, Salem, Roanoke County and Botetourt County sold goods worth $195.9 million to foreign countries in 1994, up 19.4 percent from the 1993 level of $164 million. The data may include sales by export trading companies of other companies' goods and may exclude local companies' exports traded through companies elsewhere. But this is not clear from the report.

The report did not give the number of companies involved or their products. The 1995 figures are still being compiled.

By comparison, nationwide exports rose 10.2 percent, from $464.86 billion in 1993 to $512.42 billion in 1994.

Hugh Keogh, president of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, told company representatives meeting in Roanoke Thursday that Virginia's exports stood at $10 billion last year. Keogh told the International Trade Association of Western Virginia that exports of services add another $4 billion and that 2,000 companies are engaged in exporting.

"It's a big deal," Keogh said. In fact, he said, the revenue equals that of all of the state's attractions, hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses combined.

Exporting supports 250,000 jobs compared with the 50,000 related to tourism, Keogh said.

Canada is the largest single buyer of goods sold by Roanoke-area companies, with purchases totaling $46.8 million, according to the Commerce Department. That's followed by Korea, $21 million; France, $14.4 million; Taiwan, $10.7 million; Singapore, $10.1 million; Australia, $8.7 million; Hong Kong, $8.1 million; the United Kingdom, $8 million; Japan, $6.5 million; and the Netherlands, $5.3 million.

LENGTH: Short :   43 lines
KEYWORDS: MGR

by CNB