Despite the rise in values, in real, or volume, terms, imports were down 0.4 percent in April, while exports fell 2.1 percent, the national statistical agency said, explaining that the upward movements in nominal terms were therefore the result of higher prices.
According to the agency, imports of consumer goods grew 5.5 percent, contributing the most to the increase in April with clothing, footwear and accessories recording the largest increase of 24.2 percent.
Imports of this product group have been unstable since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of factors are behind this instability, including production disruptions, problems related to marine transportation, and new strategies adopted by retail businesses to manage inventory, said the agency, adding that these changes have resulted in strong monthly variations on a seasonally adjusted basis over the past two years.
Exports of consumer goods rose the most, or 5 percent, in April, driven by higher exports of prepared and packaged seafood products with a growth rate of 52.4 percent. For the second consecutive year, to reduce the risk to the endangered North American right whales, the snow crab season began earlier in 2022, which led to a significant increase in exports for this category on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, the agency said.
When international trade in goods and international trade in services were combined, exports increased 0.7 percent to 76.5 billion Canadian dollars (61.2 billion U.S. dollars) in April, while imports were up 2.5 percent to 76.3 billion Canadian dollars (61 billion U.S. dollars), Statistics Canada said.
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