International trade Canada- an overview:
Along with the appreciation of the Canadian dollar, there were dramatic gains in resource prices. Exports of International trade Canada, escalated by 1.1% in the year 2006 and registered an amount of USD$523 billion.International trade Canada-export of resource based commodities:
Even though, exports in Canada showed an increase by 1.1% in the year 2006, it would have experienced a downward trend, had it not been for the export of resource based commodities and other resources. This included, the industrial materials, in particular. The export of resource based commodities and resources were up by 11.9%.Export of Canadian forest products:
The export of forest commodities, decreased and registered 8.6% in 2006. This decline can be attributed to the fact that the United States real estate market also slowed down and the prices were comparatively low. Export of agricultural products grew by 4.3%. The export of energy remained bland.International trade Canada- non resource based commodities:
Export of non resource based products was also bland. However, there was a hike in the consumption of consumer goods, which registered 5% increase. Equipments as well as machinery export increased by 1.3%.There was a decrease in automobile export by 6%. Export of services remained more or less static. There was a negligible gain of 0.3%.
Canadian export to the United States of America dropped from 87.1% in the year 2002 to 81.6% in the year 2006. This decline was due to the fact, that the United States, does well in matters related to non resource based exports, especially, automobiles. This was also a reason for the diversification of Canadian exports.
International trade Canada-imports:
The two important sectors of Canadian economy, which propelled growth and gain in imports were:- Agriculture
- Industrial materials
The service sector and consumer goods sector also registered increase in imports. There was increase in both the sectors by 4.1% and 6.9% respectively. China, being Canada's import trading partner gained further importance. The reason being that majority of the import commodities were imported from China. As imports became more prominent than exports, the country's trade surplus became USD$37.2 billion in the year 2006. Presently, trade surplus in Canada(resource and non resource based commodities), is equivalent to Canada's trade surplus globally.
Acquisitions, mergers and resources were very instrumental in facilitating Foreign Direct Investments into Canada in the year 2006. FDIs into Canada attained the USD$78.3 mark. In the same year, the number of Foreign Direct Investments into Canada further outnumbered Canada's direct investments in other nations.
