The Canadian Press

A new report says the decline of the global economy significantly affected Canada’s merchandise trade last year, especially in the first quarter.

Statistics Canada says the country exported $369.7 billion of merchandise to the world in 2009, down 24.5% from 2008.

Imports fell 15.5% to $374.2 billion during the same period.

As a result, the trade balance went from a surplus of $46.9 billion in 2008 to a deficit of $4.5 billion in 2009 — the first deficit since 1975.

The agency says Canada’s trade surplus with the United States fell to $34.8 billion in 2009 from $89.1 billion in 2008, its lowest level since 1997.

The trade deficit with countries other than the United States narrowed to $39.3 billion in 2009 from $42.2 billion in 2008.

In 2009, the United States represented 63% of Canada’s total merchandise trade (exports and imports combined), down from 65.7% in 2008 and 71.1 in 2005.

For the first time, countries other than the United States accounted for a quarter of Canada’s exports, up from 16.2% in 2005.

IE