Canadian Exporting Companies Are Shifting Into New Markets: EDC Report

OTTAWA, ON--(Marketwired - December 11, 2014) - Canadian companies are starting to venture into new foreign markets in search of sales opportunities, according to a semi-annual report by Export Development Canada (EDC).

EDC is Canada's trade bank, and the leading provider of financing for small Canadian companies that sell to customers outside of Canada.

EDC's Trade Confidence Index (TCI) measures how Canadian exporters and investors are feeling about their business opportunities in the next six months.

"There seems to be a new spirit of adventure among Canadian exporters. Past challenges have pushed them to look into non-traditional markets, and they are reaping the rewards," said Peter Hall, Chief Economist at EDC. "Export diversification is alive and well in Canada, and it's a great way of limiting our vulnerability to changes in particular markets."

The report noted that more than half of the companies spoken to were planning to sell to countries they had not sold to before.

"Diversified companies are opening themselves up to higher growth possibilities, and that's true whether the company is big or small," added Hall. "At the pre-crisis pace of diversification, we could see sales to emerging markets rise to one-third of total exports by the time we reach 2025. That's a sea change for Canada, an impressive turn of events."

But it's not just emerging markets that Canadian firms are turning to. The top list of new countries that this group were actively considering diversifying to include the United Kingdom (13 per cent), Germany (12 per cent), Brazil (11 per cent), and China (11 per cent).

In addition, 35 per cent of this group has already started selling to new countries in the past two years. Approximately 15 per cent of companies surveyed sold to China for the first time in the same period.

Click here for more information about EDC and the Trade Confidence Index.