Exports down across the board, B.C. hit hardest

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VANCOUVER, B.C. — Exports from B.C. plummeted 24.8 per cent in November from that time last year, marking the sharpest year-over-year drop that’s ever been recorded in that province.

The decline is attributed to fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., the softwood lumber tariffs and lower pulp and paper prices.

International shipments of energy fell 54.3 per cent, industrial goods 25.9 per cent and forest products 20.6 per cent.

"It’s a bad number," admits Stephen Poloz, chief economist for Export Development Canada. "It’s been a tough year for exporters across the country, particularly for anyone in the resource business. You can take from that that B.C. is one of the hard-hit areas."

Analysts say a recession in Japan this summer may also have cause exports to drop, as B.C. relies heavily on Japan for trade.

All other provinces reported a decline in exports as well, although none as dramatic as the one in B.C. Nationally, exports dropped 12 per cent in November.

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