.jpeg)
Sixty-six per cent of Canadian exporters rely solely on United States, but economists say that can be hard on the bottom line
For someone running an agricultural or agri-food business in Saskatoon, Kelowna or Halifax, it’s easier to sell products to customers in Canada than to someone in Vietnam.
It may be easier, but exporting will make the business more productive and profitable.
“Extensive research on Canada’s manufacturing sector finds that exporters produced 13 per cent more output per worker, than non-exporters… from 1974 to 2010,” says a post on the Export Development Canada (EDC) website.
The connection between exporting and productivity may be true, but economists and business analysts argue about “why,” said JP Gervais, chief economist with Farm Credit Canda.
Some believe that a company — maybe a firm that makes frozen french fries in Alberta — can export to many countries because they are productive and efficient.
“Or is it the opposite. Exporting to multiple destinations makes you more productive, which shows up in your revenues,” said Gervais.
Either option could be correct, but Statistics Canada data shows that the benefits of exporting are larger if a company sells its products to multiple countries.
Exporters who ship goods only to the United States have been less profitable than firms who sell products around the globe.
“Over the last decade (2015-24), revenues per exporter grew 5.8 per cent annually on average for exporters who sold to more than one country,” Gervais said in a May 26 post on Linkedin.com.
In comparison, the annual revenue growth was less for Canadian companies who exported only to the U.S. Those firms saw their annual revenues decline slightly, on average, from 2015 to 2024.
That data comes from a Statistics Canada report on trade in goods published in the middle of May.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250516/dq250516b-eng.htm
Not surprisingly, StatCan data shows that Canadian businesses rely heavily on the U.S. It makes sense, since the U.S. is the richest market in the world and it’s the closest country to Canada — both in geography and culture.
“The United States was the sole export market for nearly two-thirds (65.9 per cent) of exporting enterprises, the highest share recorded since 2003,” StatCan says.
“Many of these exporting enterprises were small and medium-sized enterprises. For large exporting enterprises, almost half (of) exported goods (were) exclusively to the U.S.”
Exporting to multiple countries is worth the effort.
Canada’s reliance on the U.S. market has received a massive amount of attention in 2025, given the unpredictable and hostile trade policies of president Donald Trump.
Many companies, including Redekop Manufacturing of Saskatoon, are dedicating more time and resources to alternate markets.
Redekop, which makes straw choppers and weed seed destructors for combines, is making some headway in South America.
“(We’re in the) second year of testing (products) in Brazil and the first full season of selling in Argentina,” Trevor Thiessen, chief executive officer of Redekop, said in March.
Making the effort to go beyond the U.S. and develop other markets is not easy, but it does pay off, Gervais said.
If exporters decide that the U.S. is their only export opportunity, that can come with a cost, he added.
“I think that’s the takeaway. You build it up and you don’t stop along the way…. Go beyond the U.S…. You’re going to reap the benefits of that.”
By going overseas and building a new base of customers in places such as South America or Southeast Asia, a Canadian agri-tech company or agri-food exporter will get stronger and more productive, Gervais said.
“The ‘why’ is because they’ve invested in making themselves competitive.”