During the first two months of 2021, exports of solid wood products to the United States were a key factor in the 24.4% increase in total foreign sales of goods from British Columbia, Canada.

British Columbia is one of the 10 provinces that, together with the three territories, make up the 13 federal entities of Canada. Its capital is Victoria and its most populous city, Vancouver

Natural gas exports to the United States from this province also contributed greatly to the increase in merchandise exports in the first two months of the year.

As a preamble, as the pandemic unfolded, world international trade experienced pronounced disruptions.

For British Columbia, the general declines reflected a combination of weaker global demand and lower commodity prices.

At an annual rate, provincial exports of consumer goods contracted 8.2% in 2020.

Especially coal, most of the decrease was due to lower exports of energy products (-26.1 percent).

At the same time, exports of pulp and paper products (-19.2%) and machinery and equipment (-7.7%) experienced significant declines.

On the contrary, solid wood products increased 5.7%, experiencing a rapid increase in the second half of 2020 and until 2021.

Exports of wood products

The value of merchandise exports from this province to the United States increased 0.5% in 2020, while exports to other destinations fell 17 percent.

Meanwhile, foreign sales of energy products had the biggest drops overall.

However, while solid wood product exports to international destinations outside the United States contracted by about a quarter, their shipments to the United States increased by about a quarter.

In February 2021, exports to the US market climbed 38% in the first two months of the year and exports destined for other places grew 7.9%.