Trade with the U.S. has long been the bread and butter of Alberta's economy, especially since NAFTA was inked more than a decade ago.
But although the vast bulk of this province's exports is shipped to Canada's free-trade partners, an increasing number of Alberta manufacturers are looking outside North America to sell their wares.
"We're creeping up there. Our business folks seem to be learning, and seem to be more courageous going into these more difficult markets," said Dr. Rolf Mirus, a professor emeritus at the University of Alberta's school of business.
"The U.S. has been easy for us."
Mirus has just completed a study - paid for by Alberta's government to the tune of $12,500 - that examined how Alberta's exports to countries with which Canada has free trade agreements, have developed since the early 1990s.
The report found the province's exports to partnering countries, including the U.S., Mexico, Chile and Israel, have increased 683 per cent since 1989.
Exports to non-free trade partners have risen 166 per cent over the same period.
Alberta exports to the NAFTA zone have risen 337 per cent since 1993 -- and 197 per cent to the non-NAFTA zone.
In dollars, Mirus found Alberta exports to the U.S. have grown from $13 billion in 1993, the last pre-NAFTA year, to $72 billion in 2007.
But Alberta's reliance on one primary trading partner, while positive during prosperous times, can cause economic turbulences during an economic downturn south of the border, Mirus said.
"This has been a problem," he said.
"(But) you can't mandate diversification."
Alberta's emerging manufacturing sector relies on exports to the U.S. to a much smaller degree than, Mirus said.
Manufacturers export only 61 per cent of their products to NAFTA partners Mexico and the U.S., whereas the province as a whole exports 87 per cent to the NAFTA zone, he said.Lloydminster Meridian Booster (Alberta)
