The value of Canadian agriculture and food exports fell sharply last year, the result of a more valuable dollar, BSE-depressed beef trade and low commodity prices.
Trade minister Jim Peterson recently presented a national trade report for 2003 that showed the value of agri-food exports fell 5.7 percent last year to $29.3 billion, almost $2 billion below 2002 levels.
The decline was a setback to an industry that wants exports to reach at least $33 billion by next year.
Although the overall value of Canadian exports was down last year by 3.1 percent, the decline in food exports was almost twice as much.
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“The largest decline in exports came in the live animals and meat and meat preparations categories, the direct result of foreign markets closing their markets to Canadian beef following the discovery of a BSE-infected cow in May 2003,” the report said.
“Live animal exports fell by $1.2 billion while meat and meat preparations exports fell by $623 million.”
The department also reported that a 20 percent escalation in the value of the Canadian dollar reduced the value of Canadian exports in a world market based on American dollars.
The report noted that some sectors did better last year, with the best example being canola exports that increased by $311 million.
Peterson said the poor overall trade result “reflects the impact in 2003 of a series of extraordinary challenges for the Canadian economy” – Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, BSE, British Columbia forest fires and a Maritime hurricane.
Overall, the value of Canadian merchandise exports declined $12.8 billion to $401.5 billion, including a $15.6 billion decline in sales to the United States.
Still, despite the bad trade news, there were bright spots.
The trade department reported that food exports to the European Union increased half a billion dollars, boosted by a $400 million increase in the value of cereal exports.
And despite the reduction in the value of food exports last year, imports also fell and the 2003 agri-food trade surplus was at a robust $7.78 billion.
The food industry and governments have set a goal of increasing Canada’s portion of world trade to four percent by next year, anticipating an increase each year.
The Canadian Agri-Food Marketing Council, funded by industry and government, had estimated that the value of that share by next year would be between $33.3 billion and $40 billion. Last year, progress toward that goal was reversed.
