BY MIMI WHITEFIELD
Shrugging off the recession doldrums, international trade through South Florida ports last year surged by nearly 21 percent, smashing all records.
The Miami Customs District, which includes airports and seaports from Palm Beach County to Key West, set records for total trade ($95.4 billion), exports ($58.8 billion) and imports ($36.6 billion) in 2010, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data released this week by WorldCity, a Coral Gables media company.
“What’s exciting about this is that Miami will surpass the $100 billion mark for the first time this year,’’ said Ken Roberts, president of WorldCity. “And it will be only the 11th Customs District in the country to do so.’’
International commerce and tourism, combined with brisk real estate sales to international buyers, are expected to help lead South Florida out of the economic downturn.
“We’re very fortunate to have this international connection in South Florida. If we want to get our local economy back on track, especially with the drag of the real estate market, I think international business is just what we need to recover,’’ said economist Manuel Lasaga, president of StratInfo, a Miami consulting firm.
As the economic crisis gripped world markets in 2009, trade with nearly all South’s Florida major trading partners fell off and overall trade slipped below $80 billion — a drop of 12.3 percent compared to 2008 when previous trade records were set.
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