Q&A with Greg Wolf.

• Author: Harrington, Susan
• Position: Special section: WORLD TRADE CENTER ALASKA 25th Anniversary - Interview

ABM: Who are our largest trading partners? What are the top exports?

WOLF: Alaska's major trading partners are Pacific Rim countries, primarily in Asia, Consider our top four exports markets: Japan, China, Korea and Canada. Taken together, these four markets alone account for 70 percent of the state's total overseas exports. There are several reasons for this concentration of exports to Asia: first, many countries in the region are resource-poor, while Alaska is resource-rich. In other words, we have what they need. Secondly, there is geographic proximity. Alaska is a neighbor, relatively speaking, and there are well-established transportation links by sea and air. Finally, and often overlooked, Alaska, as part of the United States, offers political stability that is very important for countries that rely on stable supplies of much needed commodities.

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In addition to the countries already mentioned, five European countries, namely, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium are members of our Top 10 export markets. Australia rounds out the grouping. What distinguishes the major Pacific Rim customers from those in Europe is that the former are comparatively much larger customers and they typically buy a wider variety of commodities from Alaska.

Seafood has been and remains the state's top export commodity. In 2010, seafood accounted for 44 percent of the state's total exports. At 32 percent, minerals, primarily zinc and lead concentrates, are the second-largest category, followed by energy (10 percent). This category includes liquid natural gas, coal and refined fuel products. Precious metals and here, of course, we're talking about gold and silver, is the fourth major sector, followed by forest products. Clearly, we are an exporter of natural resources. This has served us very well during recent years and all of the trends indicate that there is a lot more growth possible for Alaska, if we are allowed to responsibly develop our vast reserves of natural resources that are in so much demand from both developed and emerging markets,

ABM: How has this changed in the last five years?

WOLF: Actually, not that much, Then, as now, Japan, Korea, China and Canada are Alaska's four top markets, The specific rankings of these four have alternated from year to year, but these have been our top markets for a long time. Japan has always been our No. 1 market, but that is about to change as China assumes the role of Alaska's...