Report: Exports From New Mexico Jump Nearly 3 Percent

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New numbers show exports from New Mexico have jumped nearly 3 percent in the first half of 2016. The state Economic Development Department said this week exports to Mexico have risen 17.5 percent compared to the first six months last year, and exports to China are up around 500 percent. State numbers show New Mexico saw around $1.96 billion in exports from January to June this year. That's an increase from $1.9 billion during the same period last year. Economic Development Department Secretary Jon Barela says the growth is part of a plan that began six years ago to increase New Mexico exports. Jerry Pacheco, head of the Border Industrial Association, says a bulk of the growth has been from the booming border town of Santa Teresa, New Mexico.