Sales of Hawai'i deep-sea drinking water have cooled. However, the fancy water still remains Hawai'i's top locally produced export.

The declared value of international "nonsweetened water" exports, which are comprised primarily of bottled desalinated seawater, increased 12.5 percent to $31 million during the first nine months of this year, versus $27.6 million in the year-ago period, according to figures recently released by the Foreign Trade Zone Division of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The amount of water exported rose just 1.9 percent to 120.3 million pounds, when compared with a year ago.

Deep-sea water, pumped from 2,000 to 3,000 feet below the ocean's surface, has become a hit in Japan, where it is marketed as a pure, nutrient-rich drink. The water is touted as being thousands of years old and free of modern impurities. Exports of the water have soared tenfold in just three years. However, sales growth is starting to stabilize.

"It's really doing very well," said Gregory Barbour, who tracks exports of seawater as the administrator for Foreign-Trade Zone No. 9. But, he added, "it's hard to keep up such high growth once the base is so high."

Most of the seawater bottlers in the state operate at the Big Island's Natural Energy Lab park, where a pipeline draws nutrient-rich seawater from off the Kona Coast. The facility hosts four operators, including industry leader Koyo USA Corp., which can produce 1 million bottles of water a day. Two other companies, Savers Holdings Ltd. and Moana Water Co., have leased property at the facility.

Deep Ocean Enterprises, which is O'ahu's first bottler of desalinated deep-sea drinking water, started production last month after purchase of a Kapolei factory from Hawaiian Springs LLC in July. Deep Ocean purchases its water from DSH International Inc., which mines deep-sea water from a ship parked about four miles west of Ko Olina.

Deep Ocean plans to sell its water for about $1.29 for a half-liter bottle and $2.49 for a 1.5-liter bottle under the Hawaii Deep Blue label. The water will be available soon in Food Pantry, Don Quijote and other locations, according to Deep Ocean officials.

The company hopes to begin exporting water to Asia customers by early next year.

"We're lining up our customers," said Deep Ocean's president, Richard Paige. "We're kind of focusing on Hawai'i now. It's the easiest market for us."

Koyo and Kona bottler Deep Seawater International Inc. products, which also can be purchased locally, also are targeting markets in Asia as well as the Mainland U.S. Increased exports to the Mainland have made it more difficult to track Hawai'i foreign water sales. That's because some Hawai'i water exports are now shipped to Japan via California, which means the exports no longer are counted as a Hawai'i product.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.