B.C.’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are more focused on importing and exporting than the national average, according to a survey released this morning by UPS Canada.
The survey notes that the majority of Canadian SMEs’ holiday season inventories will come from within Canada’s borders (90%) and be sold within Canada (91%).
In B.C., those figures are somewhat lower, with 86.6% of local SMEs’ inventories coming from within Canada and 89.6% of inventories sold within the country.
Nicolas Dorget, UPS Canada’s vice-president of enterprise accounts, said it’s unclear why Canadian SMEs aren’t very focused on exporting.
“We know there’s a lot of volatility in the market and that seems to be one of the causes,” he said, though he noted that the trend hasn’t changed much in the past few years.
But he said the approach risks limiting Canadian businesses’ opportunities.
“Failing to take advantage of diversifying both sourcing and sales channels – your markets – you’re going to limit yourself significantly in the years to come.”
The survey also found that:
-of businesses already exporting to the U.S., 26% of B.C. businesses increased those in the last six months, compared with 30% nationally;
- of businesses already exporting to emerging markets, 24% of B.C. businesses increased those exports in the last six months, compared with 18% nationally; and
-B.C.’s top non-BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) export destinations are Mexico, the Philippines and Vietnam; nationally, it’s Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea.
The survey was conducted in mid-August among 549 Canadian SME owners.
Jenny Wagler
Twitter: JennyWagler_BIV