According to Statistics Canada, following two months of strong increases, growth in Canadian merchandise imports and exports slowed in April, with imports rising 1.9 percent and exports increasing 0.6 percent. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world narrowed from $2.3 billion in March to $1.5 billion in April.
After posting significant increases in February (+5.1 percent) and March (+7.8 percent), total imports posted a more modest increase in April (+1.9 percent), and import values totaled $62.8 billion.
Total exports were up 0.6 percent to $64.3 billion in April, a fourth consecutive monthly gain. Since the beginning of 2022, the value of exports has risen 12.8 percent, but once adjusted for prices, exports were down 4.9 percent in real (or volume) terms over the same period.
Imports from the United States rose 4.4 percent in April, partly on higher imports of refined petroleum products. Exports to the United States were up 2.1 percent, a fourth consecutive monthly increase. As a result, Canada's trade surplus with the United States narrowed from a record high of $12.2 billion in March to $11.6 billion in April.
Imports from countries other than the United States decreased 1.9 percent in April, due to a sharp drop in imports from China (-15.3 percent). This follows consecutive large increases in February and March. The drop in April coincided with the lockdown of Shanghai due to recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in that part of the country. Despite the monthly decline, imports from China were up 36.4 percent compared with January.
Exports to countries other than the United States fell 4.7 percent in April. Lower exports to the United Kingdom (gold), South Korea (copper ores), France (canola and aircraft) and Spain (pharmaceutical products) contributed the most to this decline.
Canada's merchandise trade deficit with countries other than the United States widened slightly in April to $10.1 billion from $9.9 billion in March.