Exports continue climbing.

• Position: Quarterly trade report for Alaska

The total value of Alaska's exports in the first three quarters of 1990, $2.742 billion, marked a 37 percent increase over exports for the same period in 1989, $1.998 billion. The only sector of exports that did not increase in value during the first three quarters of 1990 was petroleum product exports, which slipped 0.6 percent from the previous year.

Mineral exports showed the most impressive growth - 262 percent - during the three quarter period, jumping from $30 million to $109 million. The figure reflects exports from the Red Dog Mine near Kotzebue, which began shipping ore over the summer.

The value of coal exports also increased through the third quarter of 1990, rising 32 percent over the value reported for the same period during 1989. The change is attributed to the timing of the huge marine shipments of coal to Korea.

For the first three quarters, fish exports for 1990 increased 23 percent in value over the prior year and 153 percent over five years earlier. Trends in seafood sales abroad are further analyized on the next two pages.

Timber exports were largely unchanged. For the period through September, the cumulative value for 1990 was up only 1.8 percent compared with that of 1989, but soared 146 percent compared with the value for 1986.

The large increase in the Other' category, 224 percent over 1989, reflects Anchorage International Airport's use as an air cargo hub, primarily by Federal Express. Because of trade regulations, Anchorage is considered the port of export for many products shipped overseas by air from the continental United States. Medical equipment, computer software, and compact discs and other recorded media are among the primary cargoes transferred via Anchorage for worldwide distribution. Editor's Note: This is our first installment of the quarterly trade report. The data and narrative are developed in cooperation with the University of Alaska Anchorage's Alaska Center for International Business. In subsequent issues, we intend to vary the sectors and statistics analyzed For example, in June, we will include a look at seafood price trends. Please let us know what kind of information you would find most useful. We invite your suggestions and comments.

Among fish products exported, bottomfish, shellfish, roe and the sector labeled other' increased; other' fish exports include rockfish, flounder and fishmeal. The category that includes surimi and miscellaneous manufactured items such as...