Eby eyes increased trade potential with Malaysia in 10-day trip to Asia
Agriculture minister says trip is part of bid to diversity trade away from U.S.
Malaysia is far from being one of British Columbia's top trading partners, but Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says the country is being included in an Asian trade tour as part of a bid to diversify trade away from the United States.
Premier David Eby, Popham, B.C.'s parliamentary secretary for Asia-Pacific trade, Paul Choi, and business leaders leave Sunday on the 10-day mission that will also include Japan and South Korea.
It's Eby's second trip to Asia since becoming premier in late 2022.
Popham acknowledged that B.C. does not trade a lot with Malaysia now.
"But that is why we are going there," she said Wednesday. "They have let us know that they are interested in trading."
According to government figures, B.C. agricultural exports to Malaysia totalled $10.7 million in 2024 with total trade to Malaysia totalling $162 million, a far cry from the $5.6 billion worth of trade with Japan and $3.6 billion with South Korea.
Asked at a technical briefing on the trip why Malaysia was included, staff pointed to the southeast Asian nation's demographics, with a population that is still growing and is younger than either South Korea or Japan.
Malaysia also currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a continental trading bloc with which Canada is currently negotiating a free trade deal.
Focus on food
Popham added that the delegation to the largely Muslim country will visit a Halal food exhibition.
"We have a lot of producers who are producing Halal food, so we are going to see how we can expand that and open up opportunities."
The technical briefing heard that Japan, with a population of 123 million, ranks third among B.C.'s trading partners, accounting for 10.4 per cent of exports, while South Korea with a population of 52 million ranks fourth, accounting for about 6.6 per cent.
Malaysia, with a population of 34 million, ranks 16th.
The tour is not including mainland China because it has imposed tariffs on Canadian food, including B.C. shellfish.
Popham's presence points to one of the specific goals of the trade mission — raising the profile of B.C. food products.
She said the delegation will visit a large fish market in Osaka, Japan's second-largest city. Other stops will include food retailers in Japan and South Korea, Popham added.
Popham said now is a "critical time" for B.C. to find customers for its agricultural products.
"The countries that we are going to are interested in B.C.," she said. "So I don't think there is a limit on how much we can expand that [Asian] market. I'm hoping to expand it a lot."