PORTLAND (AP) – Maine exported a record $2.63 billion worth of lobsters, semiconductors, paper and other goods around the world last year, according to the Maine International Trade Center.

The export total marked a 13.7 percent increase over 2005, a shade lower than than the 14.7 percent national export-growth average. Maine’s exports had declined 5 percent the year before.

“It’s something for Maine to be proud of. We’re exporting more product here than we were last year – a 13.7 percent increase is a healthy one,” said John Richardson, Maine’s commissioner of economic development. “We want to work on it, make it better, stronger, more sustainable.”

Canada remains Maine’s top trading partner, accounting for $922 million in purchases, while Asian nations – Malaysia, China, Japan and South Korea – round out the top five.

Semiconductors – largely produced by the Fairchild Semiconductor and National Semiconductor plants in South Portland – continue to be Maine’s top export sector, followed by such other major exports as pulp and paper products, wood and wood articles, and seafood.

Roughly 1,668 Maine companies are supported by international sales, and more than 55,000 jobs are supported by exports and foreign investment, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The growth of exports to Asia was a key factor in the decision to schedule a gubernatorial trade mission there in the fall, said Janine Bisaillon-Cary, trade center president and state international trade director.

Maine is taking a few different approaches, such as concentrating on a particular sector, to penetrate Asian markets, said Bisaillon-Cary. The trade center has brought wood products companies to China for a trade show in the past, and there are plans to attend another one at the end of this month.

“With the amount of building in China, it’s a good growth area over the next five years, at least,” she said.