{"id":32464,"date":"2026-02-06T20:04:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T10:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=32464"},"modified":"2026-02-06T22:03:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T12:03:50","slug":"why-japan-not-china-or-india-is-canadas-top-target-for-lumber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/why-japan-not-china-or-india-is-canadas-top-target-for-lumber\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Japan, Not China or India, is Canada\u2019s Top Target for Lumber"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japan, not China, South Korea or even India, is Canada’s top target for lumber exports, with its shift from single\u2011family homes to multi\u2011storey timber buildings creating ideal conditions for Canadian forest products. That is according to Bruce St. John, president of the federally funded Canada Wood Group,<\/a> who said Canada is now looking further afield for new markets, such as Mexico, the Middle East, and North Africa, to offset declining shipments to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJapan gives the highest possible return to the industry in terms of the value of the lumber they import,\u201d St. John said. \u201cThey import our traditional products, and we make products that are specific to their market.\u201d<\/p>Despite Japanese new-builds falling to less than half the levels they were 30 years<\/a>, Canada’s timber systems are an ideal fix for Japan’s growing multi-storey market according to Bruce St. John, president of the Canada Wood Group.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The push to diversify comes as U.S. duties and tariffs continue to weigh on British Columbia\u2019s forest sector, with the industry now racing find new markets as mills close, and prices fall. St. John, who has just returned from trade missions in Japan, China and South Korea, said the industry is moving quickly but also warned that entering new regions is rarely straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a bit of a crisis right now, so we want to get everything done very, very quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cYou go into new markets, and there are a lot of barriers that are in place. For a start, do they have wood construction codes and standards? And if the country doesn\u2019t have that, we\u2019re starting from the very grass roots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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