NB exports show worrying trend

What you won’t read in the Times & Transcript is anything remotely related to bad news on the economy. So, you will have to read it here. There is a disturbing trend emerging from New Brunswick’s exports. New Brunswick is an export-intensive province (one of the most dependent in Canada on exports) and since 2000, I have been tracking a downward decline in the export of many of our key sectors. Excluding exports from petroleum refineries, the total industry exports from New Brunswick are down by $624 million (2000 to 2003). Six of our top ten exported products have declined by a total value of $780 million.

% Decline in Value of Exports from NB (2000-2003)

Industry:

Paper Mills (-25%)

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (-3%)

Pulp Mills (-22%)

Sawmills and Wood Preservation (-35%)

Veneer, Plywood and Engineered Wood Products (-36%)

Electric Power Generation (-34%)

Other Non-Metallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying (-19%)

Animal Aquaculture (-33%)

Paperboard Mills (-38%)

*Source: Statistics Canada.

In addition, look closely at these industries. They are almost all based in New Brunswick’s rural communities.

Somebody needs to take a long hard look at the economic development policies of the Province of New Brunswick. Or maybe we should wait until these exports drop to zero before acting.