The latest report card from the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council (APEC) indicates that between 2010 and 2016, the number of exporters in the province dropped from 314 to 288.
Only Prince Edward Island saw an increase above the national average, largely the result of a nine per cent jump in the number of exporters in 2016 alone.
“Increasing the number of firms that export is important, but accelerating the growth of existing exporters also needs consideration,” Fred Bergman, APEC’s senior policy analyst, stated in a news release. “As it stands, large exporters in Atlantic Canada — those employing more than 100 people — accounted for almost three-quarters of the region’s merchandise exports last year, while they comprise 11 per cent of exporting firms.”
According to APEC, doubling the number of exporting companies that employ more than 100 people would increase the Atlantic region’s total exports ports by 74 per cent.
The report also indicated that almost three-quarters of Atlantic region exporters send their products to only one market. Newfoundland and Labrador, with 55 per cent going to the United States and 42 per cent looking to Europe as markets, is the most diverse among the Atlantic provinces.
