BC trade mission to Asia explores new markets for seafood
Increasingly unreliable US partnership behind move to develop bonds elsewhere
A delegation from British Columbia is exploring new export markets in Asia this week in the wake of Canada’s trade war with the US, which is BC’s biggest trading partner.
Led by BC premier David Eby, the trade mission will visit Japan, South Korea and Malaysia with the goal of finding new customers for BC seafood and other exports.
“Our largest trading partner has become increasingly unreliable, so now is the time to expand international markets for BC goods and develop deeper bonds with other countries,” Premier Eby said.
Major customers
“This trade mission is about showcasing all that BC has to offer, deepening our relationship with major customers, supporting good jobs here at home and building our province’s position as the economic engine of a stronger and more independent Canada.”
BC Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham, part of the government group, said seafood is one of the sectors with the greatest potential for growth in the region.
She said the trip will include attending a halal trade show in Malaysia as well as visits to Costco Japan and Costco Korea to view the BC seafood sold there.
The province has historically been playing catch-up in the Asia-Pacific region with competitors such as Australia having a deeper presence there, Kristen Hopewell, a professor and director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of BC, told the Vancouver Sun.
Trade with the US
“We’re fighting geography. It’s been much easier for companies in BC and in Canada to trade with the US, given our geographic proximity, given our linguistic similarity and so forth, than to try to reach out to target these Asian markets.
“About 50% of our trade goes to the US. That’s an extremely high degree of trade vulnerability.”
BC’s salmon farmers, already reeling from the decision by former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to phase out net pen farming by 2029, are hoping the new federal government under Mark Carney will be more supportive of the sector and reset federal policy.
The BC Salmon Farmers Association said farmed salmon production had declined by 45% under the previous government.
