Newsprint production directly accounts for 1.6% of the province’s GDP and 1.0% of employment. Canada produces approximately 23% of the world’s newsprint and Newfoundland and Labrador accounts for about 9% of Canadian shipments. The province has maintained its share of world markets (approximately 2%), while both Canada and the U.S. have seen their market shares diminish in recent years. In 2003, the province accounted for 9.2% of Canadian shipments in comparison to only 6.9% in 1990.
In 2003, provincial shipments recorded their second highest level ever at 781,000 tonnes, a 5.5% increase over 2002. The province’s mills fared much better than Canadian newsprint mills which saw shipments remain on par with 2002. Newsprint prices increased by 8.2% to US$503 per tonne, however, prices remain low in historical terms. Newsprint prices averaged US$589 per tonne over the 1995 to 2001 period. The value of shipments (in Canadian dollars) was estimated at $550 million in 2003. While both shipment volumes and U.S. dollar prices were up significantly, the value of shipments increased only 1.8% as most of the benefits from higher prices and quantities were offset by a higher Canadian dollar. |
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The province’s lumber industry has suffered several significant
setbacks over the past two years. In addition to the general
industry downturn caused by the Canada/U.S. softwood lumber
dispute, the two largest sawmills in the province, which had
previously accounted for 60% of total production, shut down for
most of 2003 as a result of market conditions and various
corporate issues. In addition, another relatively large sawmill
was destroyed by fire this past June. At the time of writing no
production data was available, but it is clear that production
was down considerably in 2003.
Prices were volatile last year ranging between US$231 per
thousand board feet (tbf) in May and US$359 per tbf in September.
On an annual basis, lumber prices averaged US$277, up 2.6% over
2002, but remain below the peak level of US$379 experienced in
the late 1990s. |
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In 2003, total farm cash receipts increased by 2.1% to $82.1 million. The main contributors to growth were egg production (up 10.5% to $11.7 million), floriculture and nursery products (up 3.0% to $10.8 million), and dairy products (up 1.7% to $28.2 million). Receipts from cattle production, which account for only 1% of total farm cash receipts, declined by 35.9% to $865,000 as a result of fall-out from the BSE scare.
In 2003, the highest valued farm products in the province were dairy products (34% of total receipts), hens and chickens (20%), eggs (14%), and floriculture and nursery (13%).
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