Local exporters find unlikely outlets for sales while battling the recession at home.

On a trip to the Far East two years ago, Dan Mariscal noticed in his hotel bathroom in China the same toilets and plumbing pieces he sells. At that point Mariscal, owner and president of Hirsch Pipe & Supply Co., saw a market he wasn't reaching with his five L.A. county stores.

Last year, with the help of his son, who has lived in Asia and speaks Japanese, Mariscal exported $135,000 worth of pipes, toilets and other plumbing items to Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong businesses. Next year, Mariscal hopes to increase his exports to $250,000.

He said currently he is only breaking even on the export business, but thinks it is vital to the future of Hirsch Pipe & Supply. Hirsch said he believes if Southland manufacturers and wholesalers "don't have 25 percent of their business in exports in the next five years, they're going to be either out of business or in big trouble."

Exports are up at both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach this year and export specialists say part of the reason is that area businesses are turning overseas to sell goods they can't peddle at home because of the recession.

At the Port of Long Beach, exports grew by about 10 percent in 1991, said Gordon Palmer, port economist. Overall, the port experienced a 10 percent increase in all trade, Palmer said.

Palmer attributed the growth in exports to the fact that the value of the American dollar is low and also because the economies of countries in the Far East, the top destination for outbound trade, are enjoying phenomenal growth.

At the Port of Los Angeles, exports to foreign countries grew by 5 percent in fiscal 1991 over fiscal 1990, according to figures supplied by the port.

Overall, the port had a 4.4 percent increase in trade, said Jeff Leong, port spokesman.

At the Port of Los Angeles, domestic exports (cargo shipped from Los Angeles to other U.S. ports) actually decreased in fiscal 1991, according to port figures.

Robert Kleist, U.S. corporate adviser to Evergreen Marine Corp., which is one of the world's largest shipping companies and operates a terminal out of Los Angeles, said that since late December company officials have noticed that imports are down and there is more space on ships bringing goods into Los Angeles. Evergreen officials haven't noticed a decline in exports going out of Los Angeles, Kleist added.

"We just happen to know that suddenly we found we had some space," Kleist said. "It had been quite some time since we had some space on ships."

He attributed the decrease in import traffic to the recession and the fact that consumers have cut back on buying. Exports are still strong, however, also because of the domestic recession, Kleist said.

Tim Murphy, president of the Los Angeles area Export Managers Association, said the association members, many of them small business owners, are able to export because they can receive assistance from the Export Small Business Development Center, a cooperative effort of the federal Small Business Association, the State of California and his organization. Once a business owner learns the export process, it is easier to do it the second time, Murphy said.

"A lot of our members are increasing their exports by 20 percent this year," Murphy said. "They are putting more emphasis on that (overseas) market, because the domestic market is so tough."

Gladys Moreau, director of the Export Small Business Development Center in Los Angeles, said since the office opened in August, she has helped businesses that make everything from ball bearings to medical equipment. Small companies which formerly supplied the aerospace corporations and garment manufacturers are also selling their products overseas, Moreau said.

"I see a lot of companies who may not have exported before taking a very, very serious look at the overseas market," she said. "California has an extremely diversified economy. We have a lot of small to medium-sized businesses that have a product that is very exportable."

The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles processed $100 billion worth of imports and exports in 1990, said Palmer, the Long Beach port economist.

"The port-related trade supports jobs in a number of industries," Palmer said. "It's not just the big firms that participate in that. What you don't see is the little jobs that are generated in small businesses."