Forest Industry Applauds Government for Promoting Canadian Wood in Asia

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is pleased that the Minister of Natural Resources, Joe Oliver, has promoted Canadian wood frame construction as environmentally friendly and energy efficient during his trip to China.

Minister Oliver attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the completion of China's first four-storey wood frame structure, a joint Canada-China project using Canadian lumber, located in the Tianjin Economic Development area.

"We appreciate this government promotion for wood construction, especially in China, by far our fastest growing export market," says Avrim Lazar, the President and CEO of FPAC. "There is no doubt that developing markets especially China and India are vital to the future prospects of Canada's forest products sector and this type of government support is critical to our future success."

Lazar, who is also in China speaking at Asia-Pacific Forestry week in Beijing, underscored the importance of the Canada Wood Export Program that has helped promote market diversification for forest products, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

"With the ongoing challenges in the U.S. market, exploiting these promising markets has been a life-saver for jobs and for rural communities who rely on the health of the Canadian forest sector," says Lazar. "The government has been a vital partner in our successful market expansion."

FPAC is also delighted that the Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, was in India this month to promote trade opportunities and encourage progress on reaching an economic partnership agreement.

Forest products are now Canada's number one sector exporter to both India and China.

FPAC provides a voice for Canada's wood, pulp, and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade, and environmental affairs. The $57-billion-a-year forest products industry represents 2% of Canada's GDP and is one of Canada's largest employers operating in hundreds of communities and providing 240,000 direct jobs across the country