Value of Exports - Deep Dive

In real dollar terms, Nova Scotia’s total exports (interprovincial and international) are at a similar level as a decade ago, though in recent years there has been some growth in nominal terms because of price increases.

Nova Scotia’s total exports can be broken down by destination and type. Exports to other provinces account for just over half of the total. Goods usually account for approximately half of the value of exports to other provinces. Export goods account for a larger share of the value of exports to other countries. In 2020, exports of services to other countries fell substantially as international travel was restricted for much of the year. Overall, exports of goods accounted for 57 per cent of total exports in 2020.

Though goods account for the majority of the province’s exports, service exports have been a much steadier source of growth since the early 2000s. The value of exports of goods has declined by 17.3 per cent compared to 2000, primarily due to decline in exports of goods to other countries. Over that same period, service exports have increased by 27.7 per cent as service exports grew 19.0 per cent interprovincially and 50.7% internationally.

There have been notable shifts in the composition of commodities being exported from Nova Scotia since the early 2000s. This includes significant growth in the province’s two largest merchandise export categories – seafood and tires. After declining through the 2000s, seafood exports have more than doubled since 2010, driven primarily by growing demand for lobster in Asian markets. Tires produced and exported by Michelin plants in Nova Scotia have also increased by 33.3 per cent. Note that the value of both tires and seafood exported fell during 2020, which was a short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nova Scotia International Merchandise Export by Select Commodity, 20120

Despite these recent successes, overall export of goods has been hampered by declining natural gas production. As recently as 2008, natural gas from Sable Island was the province’s largest merchandise export, valued at $1.6 billion that year. However, beginning in 2009, dwindling reserves at Sable Island led to a continuous decline in natural gas exports until they reached just $168 million in 2013. Though natural gas saw a brief resurgence in 2014 as production at the Deep Panuke began in earnest, the discovery of lower than expected reserves resulted in a switch to seasonal production in 2015. Overall, natural gas exports have declined by 98.3 per cent since 2008.

Looking forward, overall export growth rates should pick up on back of global economic growth and stable Canadian dollar. Production disruption in the forestry sector are likely to slow export growth temporarily.

CHANGES TO THE INDICATOR, BASELINE, OR TARGET:

• The goal was assumed to be measuring exports in real dollars (as opposed to current prices)
• Contextual numbers were removed from the goal statement. It was assumed that the target was to grow exports by 50% over the baseline, not to the specific dollar value provided for context in the OneNS report. This was done to keep the goal consistent in case of future historical revisions to the source data.
• Seafood definition is changed to match the goal 15 seafood definition.