May 17, 2018

SMEs account for more than 98 percent of all Canadian importers

According to a release from the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (companies with up to 499 employees) account for 98.6 percent of all importers.

This concentration is observed across most sectors, with SMEs accounting for more than 95 percent of all importers in 16 of 20 major industries.

The four sectors where SMEs accounted for less than 95 percent of all importers are: finance and insurance (94.5 percent), educational services (84.5 percent), public administration (77.0 percent), and management of companies and enterprises (76.8 percent).

However, measured by the dollar value of imports, SMEs account for 46.7 percent of goods imported into Canada in 2016, less than half of the total value.

Three sectors dominate imports in Canada: manufacturing, wholesale trade, and retail trade.