The provincial government recently published data on the value of exports in 2023. After surging in 2021-22 following the partial shut-down of economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, B.C.’s exports fell markedly in dollar terms last year. In 2023, the value of merchandise exports came in at $56.2 billion, compared to $65 billion in 2022, when the province’s export receipts were boosted by soaring energy prices together with generally buoyant non-energy commodity markets. Examining the composition of B.C.’s international exports yields important information regarding the industry sectors where we enjoy a degree of comparative advantage within the North American and wider global market contexts. Averaged over the two-year period from 2022 to 2023, roughly 22 per cent of B.C.’s merchandise exports consisted of forest products (notably lumber and pulp). This is down significantly from forestry’s 35-per-cent export share back in 2016. Energy has firmly supplanted forestry as B.C.’s No. 1 source of export earnings.