The venerable Mimi Whitefield of the Miami Herald is reporting that 2012 was a record-breaking year for international trade in the Miami Customs District with $124.73 billion worth of trade being exchanged.
According to Whitefield, Miami district exports increased to a record $73.3 billion, up nearly 6 percent from the previous year, and imports totaled a record $51.4 billion — a 17 percent increase.
Fueling international trade in part was the recent passage of the U.S. and Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
Brazil remained the Miami district’s No. 1 trading partner in 2012 with $16.4 billion in total trade — a 6.4 percent increase.
Colombia, with $9.89 billion in trade with the Miami district, was the 2012 runner-up, and Switzerland, with $8.8 billion in trade with South Florida, was third.