B.C. Exports Hit Record High

Saturday, November 13, 2010 10:46 AM

Prince George, B.C. With nearly $2.6 billion worth of merchandise and commodities shipped over the first nine months of the year, 2010 has already become a record year for B.C. exports to China.

According to Statistics Canada's latest monthly release on international merchandise trade, $2.597 billion dollars worth of B.C. origin exports were shipped to China between January and September 2010. This surpasses the $2.478 billion record total set over the
entire calendar year of 2009. Year-over-year, the value of B.C. origin exports are up by 39.5 per cent over last year's pace.

Chinese-market export growth is being fuelled in the following sectors:

* Solid wood products - $487 million, up by 94 per cent.
* Pulp and paper products - $893 million, up by 49 per cent.
* Energy products - $530 million, up by 21 per cent.
* Agricultural products - $111 million, up by 399 per cent.
* Fish products - $57 million, up by 8 per cent.
* Machinery and equipment - $75 million, up by 35 per cent.

In 2000, the value of B.C.-origin exports to China was $706 million. That value has risen by 251 per cent to reach 2009's total of $2.478 billion.

Over the past few months, a number of B.C. government officials, have led successful trade missions to China. Forests, Mines and Lands minister Pat Bell recently led a successful forestry trade mission that generated sales of 418 million board feet of lumber.

Transportation and Infrastructure minister Shirley Bond returned from China this week after leading the Pacific Gateway Alliance Trade Mission to Asia to promote the integrated Pacific Gateway transportation network.

British Columbia's gains to China are also being mirrored in its overall international export growth. Over the first nine months of the year, B.C.-origin exports to all countries are worth $21.218 billion up by 12.9 per cent over the same period in 2009.

Previous Story - Next Story

Email |

Print |

Facebook |

Twitter |

Digg |

Del.icio.us

Posted on Saturday, November 13, 2010 10:46 AM in News by 250 News

Return to Home

Comments

Posted by: Harbinger on November 13 2010 12:00 PM

Lotsa northeast coal headed for China and their many mega coal burning power plants. Where are all the Al Gore and Dave Yamaha wannabes jumping in front of this train to stop China from warming our globe? Methinks the polar bear leaving his habitat to hug a new car buyer would be better served hopping a coal freighter to China and biting someones butt instead. And if the Chinese deny it, maybe the polar bear can high stick him with Mr. Mann's hockey stick".

Posted by: hammmy on November 13 2010 2:53 PM

Our resources, that's all the want!

Posted by: pgguru on November 13 2010 5:16 PM

pat bell is god

Posted by: pgguru on November 13 2010 5:18 PM

guy like pat bell should deserve to be the prime minister of canada,no other politician has saved this many jobs ever! down the road he is saving more and more jobs also creating,he is the best forest minster b.c has ever seen and ever will!

Posted by: socredible on November 13 2010 6:33 PM

How much do we IMPORT from China?

Posted by: herbster on November 13 2010 7:09 PM

Too bad Pat Bell doesn't get a commission from Canfor. Think of all the money he could make! Maybe his next career will be a lumber salesman.

Posted by: pgguru on November 13 2010 8:21 PM

herbster grow up

Posted by: ditdat on November 13 2010 8:31 PM

Pat Bell is a good MLA. He is constantly pursueing opportunities and recognizing realistic goals. He keeps his nose clean and stays in touch with his constituants.
Keep up the good work Mr. Bell.
And yes they want our resources, but what else do we have to offer? Cheap labour? lol. Perhaps if we all get paid pennies on the dollar we can start affording to keep all our resources here in Canada. And keep all the manufacturing jobs too. We'll start producing toy cars, mini helicopters, ipods, tvs, stereos, cameraras, phones, cheap tools, (holy cow!) all sorts of stuff. Start checking the MADE IN CHINA sticker on the back of tons of the stuff we buy.
So unless we can start ot provide the cheap labour associated with all these items perhaps we should be happy with the good paying jobs that we're creating in the interm.
Someone please tell me how wrong I am...
I'm not pretending to have solutions, but neither are any of the posters ahead of me.

Posted by: supertech on November 13 2010 10:37 PM

Pat Bell is OK maybe--who cares. I care about BC first --. If we're so intent on helping our environment, why are we selling coal or wood or anything to China? What a hypocritical bunch of a-holes who call themselves green. When money is involved, our corporations let China do it for them (under the guidance of Pat Bell), reap the benefits and then stick out their chests and brag about all they're doing for the planet. This 'out of sight' attitude doesn't cut it with me. Either you're doing something for the environment or you're not, so stop feeding us BS and keep our resources here so we can give jobs to our own citizens. Why would we let China do our dirty work, if it is more profitable to do it ourselves and create some jobs at the same time.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on November 14 2010 9:17 AM

I agree completely supertech!

Posted by: northman on November 14 2010 9:57 AM

"we're so intent on helping our environment, why are we selling coal or wood or anything to China?"

I hate to break it to you guys but protectionisim doesnt pay the bills and BC doesnt have the consumer capacity to utilize 100% of the resources we produce that fuel our economy.
I do see where your coming from about them pumping the "green" movement and then BC turns around and exports coal while we get stuck with a carbon tax.

I really dont like to pump up a politicans image however.. Pat Bell has been vital in securing markets for our lumber. I would rather have local blood in office representing the forest industry then some clown from the lower main land..Hey we could have rich coleman as a forest minister again and that would really secure more mill closures.

Posted by: onemansthoughts on November 14 2010 1:15 PM

Pat Bell is good I think. However he is a yes man to Gordon Campbell. He keeps trumping it up about lumber sales to the Chinese. This makes the liberal government look good so as to take some heat off the hst. I hope the chinese dont take our 2x4s and send us back chopsticks.lol.

Posted by: socredible on November 14 2010 1:39 PM

Why doesn't the government put their Carbon Tax on fuel exports, if they're so convinced it's the way to a "green" nirvanah?

The effort to sell wood to China from trees that would otherwise just go waste is a good effort on the part of our government. Pat Bell should be commended for that. And, yes, it is far better to have a Minister of Forests from a region still dependent on forest products than one from the Lower Mainland. As Coleman and de Jong both were.

Now if we could just get a Premier from somewhere other than that region....

Sadly, with the BC Liberals, up-country new leadership talent is just as absent in the Interior as it is from anywhere else. They've all played "follow the Leader" too long. Time to go.

Posted by: gamblor on November 14 2010 3:20 PM

folks are finally starting to see the "green" lies. Forbid the use of clean coal technology here so we can more to the Chinese.

Posted by: gus on November 14 2010 3:24 PM

Socredible

I think the most important import from China is Chineses people.

Posted by: socredible on November 14 2010 4:25 PM

I agree, Gus. By and large, the Chinese immigrants have proven themselves time and again to make very good BC citizens.

I hope we are wise enough to not repeat the mistakes of the past, though. One of the largest of which was not giving people enough time, or opportunity, or encouragement, to integrate.

We can really only permanently dispel the kind of racism that's reared its ugly head in the past when we begin to know and think of other people as 'individuals' first, rather than as members of some 'group'. Whoever they are, and wherever they came from.

One of the most unfortunate aspects of large scale immigration or any 'group' is that it has often led to the same kind of "unlevel playing field" here that we're competing with internationally.

Where the new arrival is employed and paid cash "under the table", usually by his former fellow countryman already in business here. No income tax, no EI, no CPP, no WCB, etc. Some have no compunction whatsoever in exploiting the opportunity to 'cut costs' unfairly, on the backs of those who don't yet know any better. It's a shame when that happens.

Posted by: hood rich on November 14 2010 6:27 PM

yes socredible only immigrants cheat the system. have u met all of them also?

Posted by: socredible on November 14 2010 8:00 PM

No, not all of them, hood rich. But I do know some, and two are now very good friends of mine, and that is what they have told me about their own experience. And the experiences of others they knew who were also new arrivals at the same time they came in.

And I wouldn't want to imply that it's "only immigrants" that cheat the system. I'm well aware many others here do, too, only in somewhat different ways.

Generally amongst the 'locals' it's in some way where both the employer and employee are conscious of what they're doing, and both hope to profit from doing it.

In the case of two of the people I'm talking about it was straight 'exploitation' ~ very long hours for very little pay. Less than minimum wage. Paid under the table in cash. No benefits, not even the ones mandated by law like EI, CPP, and WCB coverage. They didn't know any better ~ where they came from cash payments were the standard way of paying wages, and hours weren't regulated. (But over there they did receive steady incomes when work was scarce in return for being available to work long hours at regular pay when work came in ~ here, when they weren't needed, the pay stopped.)

Posted by: lmorge on November 14 2010 11:38 PM

This amount is paltry for a country as big as china with its vast population. Look to lesser demands on wood products when they learn to manufacture the same product for much less money. It will happen.
I know chinese businessmen and already they are returning to china from canada because china feels that the duties are too high. They can and will find a less expensive way to get their lumber.