|
Canada is a major participant in international agricultural trade. In 2010, Canada's total agri-food and seafood exports to all countries equalled nearly $38.0 billion, and corresponding imports approached $29.1 billion, according to Canadian statistics. The United States is Canada's largest agricultural trading partner, buying 52 percent of Canadian exports and supplying 58 percent of Canadian imports. In addition, Canada is the leading agricultural trade partner of the United States, when exports and imports are combined. In 2010, Canada accounted for 15 percent of U.S. agricultural exports and 20 percent of imports, as defined and categorized by USDA.
The heightened level of integration between the U.S. and Canadian agricultural sectors is due in part to the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUSTA), which was implemented in 1989 and subsumed by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. From 1989 to 1998, CUSTA and NAFTA dismantled virtually all tariff and quota barriers to Canada-U.S. agricultural trade, with a few notable exceptions: U.S. imports of dairy products, peanuts, peanut butter, cotton, sugar, and sugar-containing products and Canadian imports of dairy products, poultry, eggs, and margarine. During the CUSTA-NAFTA period, Canada-U.S. agricultural trade has expanded almost without interruption. Between 1988 (the last year prior to CUSTA's implementation) and 2010, U.S. agricultural exports to Canada expanded at a compound annual rate of 7.6 percent, while agricultural imports from Canada grew at a rate of 9.0 percent. With the recovery of the world economy in 2010, U.S. agricultural exports to Canada experienced a year-to-year increase of 7.2 percent, and corresponding imports increased by 10.4 percent.
 d
PNG | JPG
Much of Canada-U.S. agricultural trade consists of intra-industry trade, meaning that within certain sectors, each country exports products to the other. In grains and feeds, intra-industry trade encompasses numerous processed products, including dog and cat food for retail sale; mixes and doughs; pastries, cake, bread, and pudding; breakfast cereal; and uncooked pastas. Beef and pork are prominent examples of intra-industry trade outside the grains and feeds sector.
Grains, fruit, vegetables, meat, and related products accounted for about 60 percent of U.S. agricultural exports to Canada in 2010. Among the leading exports were beef ($712 million), pork ($596 million), dog or cat food for retail sale ($493 million), lettuce ($399 million), and soybean meal ($364 million).
 d
PNG | JPG
Roughly 66 percent of U.S. agricultural imports from Canada in 2010 consisted of meat, grains, vegetables, fruit, and related products. Three of the five leading imports in 2010 were in the broad category of animals and animal products: live cattle and calves ($1.1 billion), beef and veal ($946 million), and pork ($868 million). The other leading imports were rapeseed oil ($1.0 billion) and wheat ($511 million).
 d
PNG | JPG
Selected U.S.
agricultural exports to Canada
Selected U.S.
agricultural imports from Canada
To view more detailed U.S.-Canada agricultural trade statistics,
go to USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's Global
Agricultural Trade System.
|
