Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's trade surplus doubled to Can$1.1 billion (US$800 million) in September from the previous month as wheat shipments rebounded strongly, the national statistical agency said Thursday.
Exports increased 1.3 percent -- at a slower pace than in previous months -- to Can$66.4 billion, while imports were up just 0.4 percent to Can$65.2 billion, according to Statistics Canada.
Following a poor harvest last year, wheat shipments to other countries rebounded (+65.2 percent) and canola exports nearly doubled.
Exports of crude oil and natural gas were also up, but exports of coal, potash and lumber fell.
The availability of updated Covid vaccines, meanwhile, drove an increase in imports, which were also up on more inbound shipments of machinery and equipment used, for example, in logging, construction, mining, and oil and gas fields -- some of it destined for Alberta wind farm projects.
Canada's trade surplus with the United States -- its neighbor and largest trading partner -- narrowed slightly to Can$9.8 billion.
The September figures rounded out a third quarter that saw total exports fall 2.3 percent, led by a drop in shipments of energy products, and an 0.8 percent increase in imports as demand for cars and trucks as well as industrial machinery picked up.
Those gains were partially offset by lower imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products in the quarter.
