Trade mission aims to promote ties to world's largest market

FREDERICTON - Business New Brunswick Minister Victor Boudreau will lead representatives from 11 companies on a trade mission to China in a few weeks time to help develop business partnerships with the world's largest population.

"New Brunswick companies offer world-class products and services, and the provincial government is eager to support them as they seek new markets," Boudreau said. "China offers unlimited export markets for many of our businesses, and we are proud to work with them as they explore new opportunities to diversify their client base."

The trip will run from Jan. 23 to 31 and will include stops in the cities of Beijing, Shenzhen and Hebei.

Boudreau said the visit to China will help develop business leads, provide participants with in-depth market knowledge and match New Brunswick companies with potential clients.

"We know each of the businesses joining this delegation will have a rewarding and lucrative experience exploring this new market," he said.

Chris Gauthier, president and CEO of ProCare Water Treatment in Dieppe, will be making his second trip to China, which boasts a population of more than 1.3 billion.

"China is an emerging market, as everybody knows. The next 20 years are going to be very important as far as those who are in that market and developing partnerships with the companies who are already on the ground," he said. "When you look at Beijing, that has a population that's roughly three quarters of Canada in one city; that's a market by itself."

ProCare, which sells potable water technologies that prevent the spread of diseases and boost energy efficiency, does business in many countries, but Gauthier says China deserves special attention.

"We're not going to sell in China the same way we're selling in the States or the same way we're selling in the Middle East. They all have their particular requirements," he said, which makes seeing the country in person even more important.

The journey will be the latest in a series to China, which a government news release says has made the country New Brunswick's third largest market, with more than $105 million in exports shipped from January to October in 2009, including zinc, pulp products and seafood products. This represented an increase of more than $60 million in exports to China compared to 2006.

There were also government-led trade missions to China in November 2008 and May 2009, which Business New Brunswick says resulted in almost $100 million in new contracts over a five-year period.