Canada's Market Share in Asia
Canada’s market share in Asia represents 0.9% of total imports in 2010. There were gains in our share in over half of the economies. Of Canada’s share of the markets in four of its top six economies in the region - the major economies of Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan – only Japan recorded a slight decline. Canada supplies about 2.5% of imports around the globe, and this provides some context for interpreting the rather small market share numbers in Asia. However, Canada should not necessarily be the source of 2.5% of any particular country or region’s imports. Globalization and freer trade allow for specialization and greater scope for products to be built using materials sourced in several countries. This, along with an increasingly regional focus in trade liberalization and facilitation efforts, has led to much higher intra-regional trade flows in East Asia, explaining in part the declining Canadian share in the region’s imports. As these trends continue, Canadian exporters may well see greater overall exports to Asia and yet capture a decreasing share of the Asian market.
| Canada’s Market Share in Asia in 2010 | |||
| Total Imports (C$millions) | Imports from Canada (C$millions) | Proportions of Total Imports (%) | |
| Australia | 222,342 | 1,821 | 0.82 |
| Bangladesh | 31,714 | 578 | 1.82 |
| China | 1,591,948 | 16,891 | 1.06 |
| Hong Kong, SAR | 495,075 | 1,802 | 0.36 |
| India | 375,411 | 2,104 | 0.56 |
| Indonesia | 154,959 | 1,265 | 0.82 |
| Japan | 792,580 | 12,500 | 1.58 |
| Malaysia | 188,267 | 1,019 | 0.54 |
| New Zealand | 35,053 | 432 | 1.23 |
| Pakistan | 49,959 | 675 | 1.35 |
| Philippines | 62,494 | 468 | 0.75 |
| Singapore | 355,031 | 1,203 | 0.34 |
| South Korea | 485,653 | 4,969 | 1.02 |
| Sri Lanka | 17,699 | 425 | 2.40 |
| Taiwan | 286,912 | 1,289 | 0.45 |
| Thailand | 210,847 | 1,054 | 0.50 |
| Vietnam | 95,203 | 399 | 0.42 |
| Total | 5,451,145 | 48,893 | 0.90 |
Source: International Monetary Fund, Direction of Trade Statistics, Yearbook 2011. Washington: International Monetary Fund 2011; Republic of China, Ministry of Finance, Financial Statistics. 12 December 2011. http://www.mof.gov.tw/engweb/ct.asp?xItem=28631&CtNode=683&mp=2; and Bank of Canada Rates and Statistics. 13 December 2011. http://www.bank-banque-canada.ca/en/rates/exchange.html.