CANADIAN LUMBER INDUSTRY, IGNORING THE ORIENT 

ARE CANADA'S ECONOMIC PRIORITIES IN PROPER ORDER?

HERE ARE SOME FACTS:

THE CANADIAN LUMBER INDUSTRY IS BIG. THE UNITED STATES TAKES 60 PERCENT OF CANADIAN LUMBER EXPORTS, JAPAN TAKES SEVEN PERCENT AND ANOTHER ONE PERCENT GOES TO SOUTHEAST ASIA. EUROPE TAKES ONLY 3.5 PERCENT. YET OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES, THE MAIN MARKETING THRUST HAS BEEN ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. WHY? BECAUSE THAT HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN THE MARKET AND MOST OF THE PLAYERS SPEAK ENGLISH. IT'S THE EASY WAY TO GO. THE FACT THAT THE EUROPEAN MARKET IS SHRINKING COMPARED TO THE PACIFIC DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE PENETRATED SOME SKULLS IN THE LUMBER INDUSTRY.

REMEMBER THE GREAT CRUISE LINER BUSINESS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC? TODAY NOT ONE SHIP REMAINS IN REGULAR YEAR-ROUND NORTH ATLANTIC SERVICE. WHY? THE MARKET HAS SHIFTED.

ALMOST EVERY JAPANESE COMPANY (CERTAINLY THEIR MAJOR TRADING AND SPECIALITY TRADING COMPANIES) ALL HAVE FROM ONE TO SIX JAPANESE PEOPLE HERE IN NORTH AMERICA LEARNING OUR CULTURE AND OUR MARKETING, TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER SYSTEMS. THEY ALREADY SPEAK PASSABLE ENGLISH AND ARE PERFECTING FLUENCY IN OUR LANGUAGE AND ARE STUDYING OUR CULTURE.

GUESS HOW MANY CANADIAN-BORN REPRESENTATIVES, WHO SPEAK FLUENT JAPANESE, ARE IN JAPAN ON A PERMANENT BASIS REPRESENTING THE CANADIAN LUMBER INDUSTRY? ONE. THAT'S RIGHT, ONE FOR AN INDUSTRY THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO A COUNTRY LIKE CANADA.

BRITISH COLUMBIA PRODUCES ABOUT HALF OF ALL CANADIAN LUMBER EXPORTS, ABOUT 35 MILLION CUBIC METRES -- WITH A VALUE AROUND $3.5 BILLION ANNUALLY. THE REST OF CANADA PRODUCES ABOUT THE SAME. IT IS THE SINGLE LARGEST SOURCE OF REVENUE, ACCOUNTING FOR MORE THAN 50 CENTS OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR EARNED IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. SEVEN PERCENT OF THE TOTAL VOLUME GOES TO JAPAN BUT THEY WANT THE QUALITY SEVEN PERCENT. IN DOLLAR VALUE THAT AMOUNTS TO A HEFTY 15 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL.

JAPAN IS THE GROWING MARKET -- THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO EVER INCREASE ITS GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT TEN TIMES IN ONE GENERATION. IT IS THE HIGHER PROFIT QUALITY MARKET. HOW TO CAPTURE IT? WITH ONLY ONE PERSON ABLE TO SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE AND WHO HAS SENSITIVITY TO THEIR CULTURE? NORTH AMERICAN POLITICIANS AND INDUSTRIALISTS DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON! THIS IS LIKELY THE REASON THAT ONLY 1,700 CARS MADE IN NORTH AMERICAN WERE SOLD IN JAPAN LAST YEAR. MANUFACTURERS REFUSED TO INSTALL THE RIGHT-HAND DRIVE REQUIRED FOR JAPANESE ROADS. BMW OF GERMANY KNEW BETTER. THEY SOLD 17,000 CARS IN JAPAN LAST YEAR. HOW CAN WE BE SO DUMB? HAVE WE TAKEN SOME COURSE ON THE WRONG WAY TO MARKET TO FOREIGN CULTURES? MOST OF IT IS JUST PLAIN COMMON SENSE IN ANY CULTURE. OUR GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN POORLY TRAINED AS ALLEGED "BUSINESS MANAGERS". THEY APPEAR NOT TO HAVE RECEIVED TRAINING IN HOW TO MARKET OUR PRODUCTS.

YOU THINK THAT'S BAD, STICK AROUND. IN CHINA THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY ONE BILLION PEOPLE -- THE FASTEST GROWING MARKET IN THE WORLD AS THEIR FIRST FORAYS INTO "ADJUSTED CAPITALISM" PROVIDE THE INCENTIVE FOR THEIR CITIZENS TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE AND ADAPT TO A CONSUMER-ORIENTED WORLD. HOW MANY CAUCASIAN NORTH AMERICAN-BORN MANDARIN-SPEAKING PEOPLE DOES THE LUMBER INDUSTRY HAVE WORKING IN THIS HUGE COMMERCIAL MARKET? NONE!!!

IF WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SENSE TO TAP THESE MARKETS, IF OUR SALES PEOPLE ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH PROPER TOOLS, HOW CAN WE EXPECT TO COMPETE INTERNATIONALLY? NORTH AMERICA IS SLIDING RAPIDLY DOWN THE ECONOMIC TOTEM POLE. OUR PEOPLE KNOW LITTLE ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING. THE DATA FLOW MAY BE LESS THAN THAT MAINTAINED BY A PYGMY IN THE KALAHARI DESERT.

NORTH AMERICAN COMPANIES, EITHER DIRECTLY OR THROUGH THEIR ASSOCIATIONS, SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY PROVIDING BURSARIES, SCHOLARSHIPS AND SUBSIDIES TO SALES TRAINEES AND SKILLED MARKETING PERSONNEL, WHO ARE WILLING TO MOVE AND DELVE INTO ANOTHER CULTURE AND WHO WILL AGREE TO REMAIN WITH A COMPANY FOR A GIVEN PERIOD OF TIME. THESE SABBAT- ICALS SHOULD BE INITIALLY TAKEN IN JAPAN OR CHINA. OUR OPERATIONS SHOULD BE INTERGRATING WITH COMPANIES IN SUCH COUNTRIES. WE SHOULD MAKE THEM DEPENDENT ON US THROUGH JOINT VENTURES WITH THEIR HOUSING AND RE-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

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