Drowning in data is easy to do in our digital world. Technology has created the ability and the appetite for creating ever-increasing volumes of data. The exponential increase in global trade over the past 30 years has put pressure on statistical agencies to probe ever deeper into the details of import and export movements. Canada is no exception; as a nation with a much higher-than-average dependence on international trade, we have invested heavily in trade-related statistics. For the lay person and analyst alike, the deluge of data can be daunting. How do we sort through it all, and make sense out of it?

Canadian exporters have spoken out on this issue. Our analysis indicates that in spite of the free availability of raw information, there is a need for the packaging and cogent analysis of the myriad figures long before actual trade activity will occur. This is even more the case when Canadian enterprises decide to venture beyond our traditional trade space. Let’s face it, for a trading nation, we do the bulk of our transactions with a market that, far more than any other, is just like our own. Venturing out to a place with a different culture, language, customs, laws, and other less-identifiable differences hasn’t really been our cup of tea...until recently. Back in 2000, merchandise that we shipped to emerging markets was just 5 per cent of total exports. But by 2008, that number had more than doubled, to 12 per cent. Recession might have changed all that, but instead, by 2013 the share was up further, to 15 per cent. Rapid growth in emerging markets suggests that the share will continue to head up. And with it, the need for clear information on the ins and outs of faraway places.

In response to this need, Export Development Canada is making some key changes to our approach to Canadian exporters. We are in the process of developing a battery of knowledge products that we believe will help Canadian exporters to go, grow and succeed in the international marketplace.

This was excerpted from a 25 May 2017 commentary by Peter G. Hall of EDC.