New Brunswick exports appear to be surging after a poor performance last year, says an economist with the Canadian export credit agency. Peter Hall, Export Development Canada’s chief economist, said 2016 was not a good year for many provinces. …Hall said the discussion over increased softwood lumber duties comes after the industry has had a decade of sub-par performance. “The drop in U.S. housing demand after the great recession was cataclysmic and really affected the province quite substantially,” he said. The industry is in a better position to weather the duty storm now, he said. U.S. housing starts are up, for both good and bad reasons. “We don’t want to capitalize on misfortune, but the storms that have ravaged the south of the U.S. are really boosting demand as well,” said Hall. “At the same time these duties are being imposed, prices have soared.”