Wichita increases financial support for export development
The Wichita City Council unanimously approved a $250,000 economic services development agreement with Kansas Global Trade Services for 2015, up $50,000 from previous years.
The increase will help cover costs for implementing the Wichita-South Central Kansas Regional Export Plan, which was developed with the Brookings Institute and JP Morgan Chase.
Increased growth of local jobs is the end goal for the export plan.
Kansas Global Trade Services has received money from the city since 1998, and it has an average $14 million annual impact, according to Tim Goodpasture, economic development analyst for the city.
Twenty-eight percent of the Wichita area's economy is dependent on export, according to Karen Page, CEO and president for Kansas Global. Exports bring in new money to the community and companies that export pay higher wages, Page told the council.
Exports also help diversify the local economy and can help protect it from the volatility of the aviation industry, which Wichita heavily relies on, and has been suffering in recent years, Page said.
Reach Kelsey Ryan at 316-269-6752 or kryan@wichitaeagle.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kelsey_ryan.
This story was originally published May 19, 2015 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Wichita increases financial support for export development."