Small Business Exporters: A Canadian Profile

TLDR: This article provided a statistical profile of Canadian small business exporters for the years 2000-2002, with data drawn from theExporter Registry and Statistics Canada’s Business Register, showing that, although small businesses individually export much less than large firms, because of the large number of SMEs the value of their exports is significant at 20 percent.

Abstract: Provides a statistical profile of Canadian smallbusiness exporters for the years 2000-2002, with data drawn from theExporter Registry and Statistics Canada’s Business Register. Thereport establishes new baseline information in order toprovide a basisfor policy development to foster small business exports. The principal findingis that, although small businesses individually export much less than largefirms, because of the large number of SMEs the value of their exports intotalis significant at 20 percent. Presents data on the number of exporters and impact of small exporterscompared with large ones. Of 35,594 exporters, 84 percent were smallbusinesses. The majority (78 percent) exported less from $1 million (Canadian$) annually. Also examines small business exporters by annual export value andanalyses their contribution to the overall value of exports.In 2002the total value of exports was $343 billion, of which small businessescontributed 20 percent. Data is also presentedon thevalue of exports by province,industry, and export destination. The largest exporters were Ontario andmanufacturing; the major destination was the United States. A comparisonof exports in Canada and the U.S. is given; Canadian and U.S. exportpatternsare very similar, except that Canadian exporters are more activeinternationally. Observations on the profiles and impact of small business exporters aregiven, as are barriers and economies of scale that mayhinder smallbusiness exporters. Suggests public policy be tailored towards the special needof small firms in order toincrease their export activity. (TNM)