Canada‘s imports declined 1.0% in June, to C $ 50.5 billion, Statistics of Canada reported.

Imports fell in seven of the 11 product sections.

In real (or volume) terms, total imports contracted 2.2% in June.

On the one hand, imports of consumer goods (-3.7%) were the ones that most contributed to the general decline in June.

After an increase of 16.5% in May, imports of goods and miscellaneous supplies (-18.7%) registered the biggest drop.

This product group, which includes a wide range of goods, was reduced by lower imports of precious metal items from the United States and lower imports of personal protective equipment.

Also imports of clothing, footwear and accessories (-26.6%) declined in June amid retail restrictions in parts of Canada and port disruptions in Asia related to Covid-19 outbreaks.

These drops were partially offset by higher imports of pharmaceutical and medicinal products (+ 24.5%), which reached a record in June due to higher imports of «vaccines for human medicine other than influenza».

Imports in this category, which include Covid-19 vaccines, increased 74.5%, to C $ 745 million (on a customs and non-seasonal basis), a value 21 times higher than in June 2020.

Canada’s imports

External purchases of motor vehicles and their parts decreased by 3.8% in June.

After a 7.7% increase in May, imports of passenger cars and trucks fell 9.0% in June, mainly due to lower imports from countries other than the United States.

After being hit hard in 2020 by pandemic-related shutdowns, the global auto industry is currently facing a significant parts shortage, which has slowed Canadian imports of passenger cars and light trucks.

In the second quarter of 2021, passenger car and truck imports decreased 24.4 percent.