Exports, Imports and the Balance of Trade

Archived Topic Box from the 2005 Fifth Annual Benchmark Report

British Columbia is a small, open economy that depends on interprovincial and international trade for billions of dollars of income and resources every year. In 2004, BC exported $67.5 billion worth of goods and services, approximately 43.1% of the provincial Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and imported $73.4 billion. Comparatively, Canada's exports accounted for 33.3% of Canadian 2004 GDP.

The real value of BC's exports grew 4.9% from 2003 to 2004 while imports grew 6.4%. These numbers represent above average growth among the provinces in both imports and exports; the average yearly growth levels for 1990- 2004 was 3.7% for exports and 3.8% for imports. Since 1990, exports have grown 51.5% and imports 53.0% in real terms.

Trade intensity is the total exports and imports of a jurisdiction over a period of time; it measures the importance of trade to the economy. British Columbia is highly trade intense – exports and imports combined in 2004 total $140 billion dollars, more than 90% of provincial GDP. In comparison, Canada's overall trade intensity last year was less than 62% of GDP.

The balance of trade (total exports minus total imports) for BC in 2004 was negative $5.9 billion, meaning BC imported almost $6 billion more than it exported last year. A negative balance of trade is also called a trade deficit or trade gap and in simple terms it means a jurisdiction is spending more than it is producing. If excessively large, both trade deficits and surpluses (when exports exceed imports) can be a sign of economic problems. However, BC's trade deficit is relatively small, equal to 3.7% of provincial GDP. British Columbia's average trade deficit over the 1990- 2004 period was 4.5% of GDP.

International exports accounted for 67.5% of total exports in BC in 2004, and have accounted for two-thirds to three-quarters of total exports from 1990-2004. Interprovincial exports throughout the same time frame account for one-quarter to one-third of all exports, and were 32.5% in 2004. Imports for 2004 were 55.1% international and 44.9% interprovincial. This split has been relatively constant since 1990.

BC's main international exports for 2004 were Wood Products (32.4% of total exports) of which 69% is softwood lumber, and Pulp and Paper Products (16% of exports), 60% of which is pulp. Other main international exports include Energy Products (14.5%) including natural gas and coal, Machinery and Equipment (10.1%), and Metallic Mineral Products (6.8%). Rounding out the total are: fi sh products (3.1%), agriculture and food other than fi sh (4.8%) and all other commodities (12.3%).