B.C. Premier David Eby will be leading a trade mission to Asia next month in an effort to diversify trade amid U.S. tariffs.
Eby announced Wednesday (May 14) that he would be leading the trade mission June 1 to 10 in Japan, Malaysia and South Korea. He made the announcement in Victoria at the Finest at Sea wharf in front of a crew that had just returned from trip fishing for sablefish.
"Three-hundred thousand pounds of sablefish are being unloaded right now. Ninety-eight per cent of this shipment is going direct to Asia, is going to Japan. Two per cent will stay here in Victoria for local connoisseurs."
He said it's a real demonstration of the connection and the opportunity that British Columbians have with markets around the world.
"As we're under attack by the president of our largest trading partner, our relationship with overseas, the opportunity to expand those markets and diversify markets away from the United States is more important than ever and that's what we're going to do," Eby said, referring to the United States and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Agriculture Minister Lana Popham and parliamentary secretary for Asia-Pacific trade Paul Choi will be joining Eby on the trip.
The itinerary includes Tokyo and Osaka, Japan from June 1 to 5, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from June 5 to 7 and Seoul, South Korea from June 8 to 10.
Japan and South Korea are B.C.'s third- and fourth-largest trading partners, with 17 per cent of all B.C. merchandise exports going to those two markets.
Eby said the mission has a few goals.
One is to meet with existing customers and investors in a time of global instability and uncertainty and to remind that B.C. is "stable jurisdiction, a strong partner, we value the relationship we have with them."
The other goal is to identify opportunities and expand markets.
"The reason for bringing the agriculture minister along is that one of our significant products thatt we've been able to export to Asia – one of the areas that we've seen significant uptake under free-trade agreements – has been B.C. food."
Eby said it's valued as "clean and wholesome and safe and commands a premium in Asian markets." He added that in Malaysia, the government is targeting a halal food fair that has buyers from around the world servicing the halal food markets.
However, he said the trade mission's discussions will not just be limited to food.
He said almost two-thirds of the world's population is directly accessible from our ports in B.C. and those markets are looking for things like clean energy, technology products, lumber and wood, LNG and critical minerals.
Popham said that in this really difficult economic climate, "it's crucial for B.C. businesses to focus on finding and developing new markets to mitigate risk and to ensure continued growth."
The provincial government says the Indo-Pacific is the world's fastest-growing economic region and by 2040 is expected to account for more than half of the global economy. As well, more than 41 per cent of B.C.'s merchandise exports are directed toward Indo-Pacific markets. That totalled about $22.4 billion in 2024.
