Bruce St. John

With Premier David Eby visiting India last month on a trade mission, the South Asian country has been in the spotlight as a potential new market for B.C.’s forestry sector—among the Canadian sectors hit hardest by U.S. tariffs. …India offers long-term potential for B.C. forestry. But turning that potential into major demand will take time, according to industry experts. “[India has] got a history of using wood, and what’s happened is their domestic species have been reduced. They are looking for new products,” said Bruce St. John, president of Vancouver-based Canada Wood Group, a Vancouver-based government-funded organization to promote Canadian wood products. “It’s the logistics that’s an issue. It’s more expensive to transport to India than our other traditional markets. It takes longer and it’s more expensive.” Shipping to India from B.C. could take a month or more, while transit to Japan takes about 10 days.