A message from Rob Roach at ATB Economics:
Alberta's sales of goods to countries other than the U.S. increased last year, rising by 9.7% to $20.6 billion — the second-highest annual tally on record.
The annual increase was driven by an 83% spike in energy product sales (mostly to Asian countries). In 2022, it was a dramatic increase in liquefied propane sales that drove up energy product exports to Asia. Propane sales have since moderated, with sales of crude oil picking up the slack last year.
The rise in crude oil exports to Asia last year was made possible by the completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) Project. (TMX began operations on May 1, 2024, adding up to 590,000 barrels per day of pipeline capacity from Alberta to the B.C. coast.)
While the rise in energy sales to Asia is a welcome development in itself, and as a hedge against potential U.S. tariffs, it is important to note that Alberta's energy product sales to countries other than the U.S. accounted for just 4.5% of its total energy exports last year.
Farm and intermediate food products (e.g. wheat, canola, cooking oil, eggs, flour, malt, fresh fruit and vegetables, sugar, and live animals, but not meat, frozen food, canned food, cheese, beverages, and processed foods like pasta, which are included in the consumer goods category) was Alberta's largest category of exports to countries other than the U.S. last year at 31% of sales (energy was second at 30%).
Learn more in this edition of The Twenty-Four.
For more number-crunching on Alberta's economy, visit The Twenty-Four Seven by ATB.