Lumber delegation to Asia
Image: The Canadian Press
British Columbia’s largest-ever forest sector delegation will soon depart for Asia, where it will spend a week in China and Japan trying to expand the market for B.C. lumber.
Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Minister Doug Donaldson will join more than 30 senior executives from forest companies and associations, who will stay in the region from Nov. 12-17.
Donaldson says the province needs to “continue to diversify and expand” the market for B.C. wood products, especially since the industry supports more than 60,000 workers and their families throughout the province.
The province’s lumber industry has taken a hit this year, as trade relationships with the United States-the largest market for B.C. lumber–have soured.
China and Japan are B.C.’s second- and third-largest markets for softwood lumber products.
Donaldson says the trade mission’s participants will meet with customers and government officials, and explore ways to raise the value of the products B.C. exports.
In China, delegates will discuss how B.C. wood products can help the country meet ambitious goals it has set related to prefabrication and green building. They will also attend the third annual Sino-Canada Wood Conference, which will emphasize opportunities for wood in prefabricated construction.
Trade mission delegates will also meet with officials from Jiangsu Province to review the progress made to advance wood-frame construction with the support of B.C. experts, including a wood truss reroofing system and prefabricated infill hybrid walls.
In Japan, the focus will be on expanding the use of wood in multi-family and non-residential construction, and new applications for higher-value engineered wood products.
Delegates will tour a resort construction site in Koyaru, and learn about growing opportunities for B.C. wood in Japan’s tourism sector. The Minister will visit the Canadian Pavilion at the Japan Home & Building Show and tour the Tokyo Lumber Terminal.
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