Bringing Worlds Together, Over 400 Sk companies in 100 countries around the world.

Saskatchewan State of Trade

In 2011, Enterprise Saskatchewan along with Western Economic Diversification released a report authored by Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) on the current and future state of Saskatchewan trade. Following is an Executive Summary from the report which explores the many facets of the province’s truly international economy.

Executive Summary
Saskatchewan’s current state of trade has largely been influenced by recent major global transitions, including the occurrence of the recent economic downturn, the rise of emerging and transition economies as major players in the world economy and price fluctuations experienced by major commodities.

In 2010, Saskatchewan exported $24.2 billion worth of goods to international markets. Recent growth in exports is fairly consistent with export growth over the last ten years. However in 2008, Saskatchewan prospered with record setting trade activity with exports reaching a staggering $29.6 billion. Buoyed by increases in the prices of major commodities, including record prices in potash, uranium and among several major agri-food commodities, Saskatchewan exports and exporters benefitted from record sales levels. While 2008 brought record export numbers, the figures over the last two years should not be overlooked as they are more indicative of long-term trends - trends built off of Saskatchewan’s natural advantages and the mentioned major global transitions.

The recent economic downturn demonstrated the importance of the United States market for Saskatchewan exports. Emerging markets, such as China and India, quickly moved up the ranks and took their place as major export markets for Saskatchewan products. Beyond these two emerging giants, other emerging markets demonstrated their appetite for Saskatchewan products. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as the Common Wealth of Independent States (CIS) and Middle East & North Africa (MENA) regions are quickly becoming important markets for Saskatchewan. While exports to most markets around the world receded from the boom in activity in 2008 to more normal levels in 2009 and 2010, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka showed impressive growth with exports to these markets growing more than 69% between 2008 and 2010.

In addition to the recent economic downturn and the rise of emerging economies, the last few years have borne witness to dramatic fluctuations in commodity prices. Saskatchewan exports are largely built off of commodities. Saskatchewan’s geographical endowments have enabled the province to build an impressive export economy focused on commodities, primarily centered on the three Fs: food, fuel and fertilizer. The recent volatility in commodity prices created a scenario that saw Saskatchewan commodity exports vary wildly.

There are long-term trends that paint a positive picture for future exports. Growing world populations are putting upward pressure on price trends for food commodities. At the same time, demand for fertilizers is expected to increase as countries around the world attempt to maximize domestic food yields. Saskatchewan will remain a critical contributor to the world’s food basket in the foreseeable future.

Saskatchewan State of Trade (pdf)