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Canada is a major participant in international agricultural
trade. In 2008, Canada's total agricultural exports
(to all countries) exceeded $40.0 billion, and corresponding
imports surpassed $27.2 billion, according to Canadian
statistics. The United States is Canada's largest
agricultural trading partner, buying 53 percent of Canadian
exports and supplying 59 percent of Canadian
imports. In addition, Canada is the leading agricultural
trade partner of the United States. In 2008, Canada accounted
for 14 percent of U.S. agricultural exports and 22 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 2008, U.S. agricultural
exports to Canada expanded at a compound annual rate of
8.2 percent, while agricultural imports from Canada grew
at a rate of 10.5 percent.
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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 2008. Among the leading exports were beef
($697 million), pork ($539 million), corn ($505 million),
dog or cat food for retail sale ($495 million), and soybean
meal ($467 million).
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Roughly 65 percent of U.S. agricultural imports from Canada
in 2008 consisted of meat, grains, vegetables, fruit, and
related products. Three of the five leading imports in
2008 were in the broad category of animals and animal products:
live cattle and calves ($1.5 billion), beef and veal ($893
million), and pork ($724 million). The other leading imports
were rapeseed oil ($1.4 billion) and wheat ($1.0 billion).
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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 U.S.
Trade Internet System.
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