Statistics Canada released the figures on January 23. The agency has added marijuana sales to its monthly report that keeps track of Canada’s economic numbers. The $54 million in sales for November are higher than the original estimate of $43 million, showing the positive potential in the market.
“Data for this Canadian industry are presented in an unadjusted form as there is no seasonal pattern established by official statistics yet,” Statistics Canada said Wednesday, according to the Ottawa Business Journal.
Marijuana retail stores saw the biggest overall increase in sales amongst all the retail sectors tracked by StatCan. Retail sales decreased 0.9 percent to $50.4 billion in November on lower sales at gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers. Excluding these two subsectors, retail sales increased 0.2 percent.
This latest data comes as Canadian marijuana retailers are still grappling with a supply crunch that has lasted for three months. This supply shortage is expected to last for several months and the statistics shed some light on the sales performance among the different provinces.
In Ontario, where cannabis can only be purchased through a government website, cannabis sales dropped to $10.1 million in November from $11.7 million in October. In British Columbia, there was a nearly 50 percent drop in sales from $2.3 million in October to $1.0 million in November, according to the report.
