Alberta’s merchandise exports to international destinations gained momentum on the back of higher energy prices in March.

The value of the province’s domestic exports reached $17.5 billion in March, a new all-time high. This was up by $3.9 billion (+28%) from February 2022 and by $6.3 billion (+56%) from last March.

With production holding at elevated levels, the value of energy exports received a big boost from oil prices averaging over US$108/bbl in March. Energy sector exports climbed $3.2 billion (+30%) from the previous month.

Non-energy exports also rose to a record level in March, led by a 50% monthly increase in sales of forestry products, building and packaging materials.

Through the first quarter of 2022, Alberta posted the largest increase (in both dollar and percentage terms) relative to all other provinces. Goods exported to international destinations were up by $15.8 billion (+53%) year-to-date, compared to where things stood at the same point in 2021.

It was a similar story nationally as Canada’s exports posted growth of $29.0 billion (+21%) in the first quarter. Responsible for over half the national increase, Alberta remained at the forefront in terms of contributions by a huge margin. Posting less than a quarter of the year-to-date increase in value, British Columbia was the second biggest contributor in March.

Answer to the previous trivia question: NAICS stands for the North American Industry Classification System.

Today’s trivia question: In what year did the movie “Star Wars” (a.k.a. “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope”) come out?