Exports in Alberta
Alberta was the second largest provincial exporter in Canada, behind Ontario, accounting for 24.0% of Canada’s total exports in 2008 (Statistics Canada 2009).
Alberta exported $109 billion worth of goods in 2008 (33.2% higher than 2007). The higher energy prices were a major reason for the increasing exports. Energy exports rose to $79.3 billion in 2008 from $56.3 billion in 2007. Non-energy exports also increased significantly, by 16.4% to $29.8 billion, largely due to the increase in higher prices of grains.
International Agriculture Exports
Alberta’s international exports of primary and processed agricultural and food products reached a record of $8.1 billion in 2008, and were 25.6% higher than in 2007 (Statistics Canada 2009). Substantial increases in exports of grains and oilseeds, mainly due to the high prices, contributed to the growth of the exports. The top five Agri-Food exports were wheat, canola seed, beef, live cattle and pork (click on diagram). These five products together accounted for around 69.5% of the province’s total agri-food exports. The four largest export market of Alberta were the United States, Japan, China and Mexico, (ranked in decreasing order).