(AUSTIN) — *Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar this month kicks off a six-city tour of some of the state’s ports of entry, which account for more than $600 billion in trade annually and serve a variety of domestic and international activities across multiple industries.

 

The "Good for Texas Tour: Ports Edition "begins Monday, Nov. 14, with a stop in Laredo and ends Dec. 8 in Port Arthur. During each stop, Hegar will meet with local officials and release the results of a study the Comptroller’s office recently completed examining the benefit of that port to the Texas economy.

 

“The economic importance of Texas’ air, land and sea ports, as well as our states’ intermodal facilities, extends beyond Texas. The Lone Star State’s port system is vital to the economic fabric of this country,” Hegar said. “Texas has led the nation in exports for more than a decade, and the port system has provided jobs throughout the state while facilitating the essential trade that keeps our state and our national economies moving forward.”

 

Texas has 29 ports of entry that support nearly 1.6 million Texas jobs and add $224.3 billion to the gross state product.

 

For more information on the tour, including tour dates, visit the Comptroller’s website [ http://www.comptroller.texas.gov/economy/economic-data/#ports ].

 

The tour continues Hegar’s efforts to help keep Texans informed of economic issues in their own backyards. The previous "Good for Texas" tours included looks at military installations and the state's various economic regions.