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Alberta to lead country in export growth in 2017

Last Updated Nov 21, 2017 at 3:24 pm MDT

The global economy is rolling again.

The latest numbers from Export Development Canada (EDC) show a revival in global growth being led by the U.S. and spilling into Western Europe.

For the first time in about seven years international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are revising their forecasts up.

Canada is expected to see export growth of eight per cent this year, but what does this mean for Alberta?

After another down year in 2016, the province is enjoying 20 per cent growth in exports this year, best in the country, being led by a 31 per cent increase in energy exports.

EDC Chief Economist Peter Hall doesn’t see that changing, even with uncertainty around NAFTA.

“This industry-by-industry approach is what seems to be carrying the day (in NAFTA negotiations) and given that energy is not under the microscope, that’s pretty good news for the province,” he said.

The agri-food sector is also looking up.

“There is a great need for meat and Alberta is very good at that,” said Hall. “This is sort of in the early stages but we are looking at numbers that are going to places like China rising quite considerably.”

The oil and gas machinery export sectors are also seeing growth along with the forestry sector, but that could be hindered by the softwood lumber dispute.

However, this is more of a one year spike, export growth drops to 2 per cent in 2018.

“What’s really good is that all that did happen in 2017, all that’s continuing to happen in 2017, is actually carrying forward into next year,” said Hall.

Services will also grow six per cent this year and next year.