A rebound in the faltering Japanese economy, which is B.C.’s second largest trading partner, would likely go a long way in kick-starting the province’s economic recovery, according to BC Stats.
But B.C. may have to further modify its trade patterns if Japan continues to struggle, it concluded.
Japan’s government debt was roughly 192% of GDP in 2009. Exports to Japan from B.C. dropped 31.2% last year.
B.C. has historically been the source of more than half of all Canadian commodity exports to Japan, peaking in 1994, when 59% of all Canadian shipments to Japan came from B.C. Its share of overall Canadian shipments to that country has since fallen to 43%.
The share of B.C.’s total exports to Japan dropped to 13.8% in 2009 from 15.2% in 2008.
While demand for B.C. coal – the province's largest export to Japan - has risen, the volume of wood products and metallic mineral goods has decreased.
The only major commodity remaining relatively stable between 2004 and 2009 were agricultural and fish products.
The number of Japanese travellers to both B.C. and Canada as a whole has also decreased.
There were 63% fewer Japanese travellers entering B.C. in 2009 than in 1999. Last year marked the lowest level of Japanese tourist traffic to B.C. in at least 20 years.
While B.C. exports to most major trading jurisdictions also dropped, exports to Mainland China surged 28.7% in 2009 to $2.6 billion.
BC Stats said that given the current trajectory, China might eventually surpass Japan as an export destination for B.C. goods.