In March, Canada's merchandise imports decreased 2.9%, while exports were down 0.7%.
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As a result, Canada's merchandise trade balance with the world moved from a revised $487 million deficit in February to a $972 million surplus in March.
Total imports decreased 2.9% in March to $62.6 billion, the lowest level observed since March 2022. In real (or volume) terms, imports fell 5.3% in March 2023.
Imports of consumer goods (-11.0%) decreased the most in March, mainly because of lower imports of pharmaceutical products (-31.8%).
In February, large quantities of drugs unrelated to COVID-19 were imported, and these shipments did not repeat in March, causing a sharp drop for the month.
Excluding pharmaceutical products, imports of consumer goods were down 5.1%, with clothing, footwear and accessories (-11.9%) and miscellaneous goods and supplies (-5.7%) posting the largest declines.
Imports of electronic and electrical equipment and parts (-5.2%) also contributed to the decrease in March. Imports of communication and audio and video equipment (-12.6%), which is largely composed of cellphones, posted the largest decline.
This decrease follows two months of high levels that coincided with the release of new cellphone models, which occurred earlier than usual this year. Additionally, following two consecutive monthly gains, imports of computers and computer peripherals (-10.4%) decreased in March.
Total exports decreased 0.7% in March to $63.6 billion, the lowest level since February 2022. In real (or volume) terms, exports edged up 0.1% in March 2023.
Exports of energy products decreased 5.9% in March, mainly because of lower exports of crude oil (-8.6%). While this was mostly the result of lower prices, crude oil export volumes also decreased in March.
Other notable March declines were observed in the farm, fishing and intermediate food products (-5.3%) and the forestry products and building and packaging materials (-6.4%) product sections.
Exports of aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts rose 30.8% in March, partially offsetting the overall decrease. Exports of aircraft more than doubled in March, in large part because of the increase in exports of business jets to the United States.
Total exports were down 0.3% in the first quarter of 2023, mainly because of lower prices. Meanwhile, quarterly imports edged down 0.2%. However, in real terms (calculated using chained 2012 dollars), quarterly exports increased 3.5%, while imports decreased 0.4%. ■