OTTAWA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Canada's trade deficit was 2.69 billion Canadian dollars (about 2.1 billion U.S. dollars) in February, surging from 1.94 billion Canadian dollars in January as rail transport problems cut exports of wheat and canola, according to Statistics Canada Thursday.
Canada has only seen two monthly trade surpluses since October 2014.
Exports rose 0.4 percent as shipments of motor vehicles and parts rebounded five percent following atypical Canadian auto plant closures in January. Exports of aircraft and other transportation equipment rocketed 19.6 percent.
However, exports of farm, fishing and intermediate food products plummeted 17.2 percent, the largest record. Continuing shortages of rail cars in western Canada cut exports of wheat by 41.6 percent and canola by 40.1 percent.
Exports to the United States rose 1.9 percent while imports climbed 3.3 percent. As a result, the trade surplus with the United States fell to 2.58 billion Canadian dollars in February from 2.93 billion Canadian dollars in January.
Meanwhile, imports grew 1.9 percent on a 15.4-percent surge in shipments of energy products due to higher demand for crude oil and crude bitumen. Imports of motor vehicles and parts climbed 1.7 percent as the auto plant shutdowns ended.
