B.C.’s jade trade turning the world green with envy

These days, there seem to be a lot of questions swirling around trade. Its impact on local labour markets, implications for a country’s economic competitiveness and competing views on the best way forward. However, for a province driven by trade, like B.C., there are clear benefits and opportunities.

For B.C., one of the biggest trade opportunities is Asia. In 2015, not only did B.C. export more goods to Asia than any other Canadian province — nearly 40 per cent of all B.C. exports — these exports represent more than a quarter of Canada’s total export value to the Asia Pacific region.

While many probably think of timber, seafood or maple syrup as staples of Canadian trade, there are actually other products making our mark on the global economy, such as jade.

Over the past 15 years, B.C. has carved out a niche in the jade trade. We are the largest producer and exporter of nephrite jade, also known as the “stone of heaven” in China, where it’s used for jewelry and sculpture and where it retains more than 7,000 years of cultural and historical significance. According to the Gemological Institute of America, B.C. is now the main supplier of nephrite jade to China.

Green Mountain Jade, which owns and operates four mines in northern B.C., has helped make inroads in this market. The jade from one of our mines, Polar Jade, was called “the brightest, greenest and hardest nephrite yet discovered” by world-renowned journalist and photographer Fred Ward. This mine produced the jade that was used to carve the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace, a 2.7-metre-tall statue that has garnered more than 10.5 million visits on worldwide tours, as well as the Emperor’s Sunrise, a 10-ton carved gemstone that was showcased at the entrance of the B.C.-Canada pavilion during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Overall, our company produces about 250 tonnes annually, but without trade, our market would be significantly smaller. More than 90 per cent of our production is exported to Asia Pacific markets, making Green Mountain Jade one of the largest suppliers of nephrite jade worldwide.

One of the reasons our company has thrived is because of several competitive advantages when it comes to trade, especially with Asia Pacific markets.

For one, we enjoy a positive and stable domestic business environment. For Green Mountain Jade, this represents an enormous advantage over other jurisdictions that produce jade. We often take for granted things like the rule of law, competitive levels of taxation and regulation, and an emphasis on corporate social responsibility, especially in the mining sector — all of which make B.C.-based companies attractive business partners in the global trade economy.

In addition, we have an abundance of diverse and high-quality natural resources that lack a strong domestic market, but generate significant demand globally. Trade, and the ability of local companies to export landlocked assets, creates value that would otherwise not exist. British Columbians should take pride in knowing our jade is the most-sought-after worldwide, and its production facilitates a value chain that stretches across our province.

Lastly, B.C.-based firms benefit from proximity to tidewater and the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest port. Last year, the Port of Vancouver facilitated more than $200 billion in trade, including hundreds of tonnes of jade. It connects Canadian businesses with more than 170 global economies, especially in the Asia Pacific region, which was the point of origin or destination for more than half of all cargo flowing through our local port.

In the past, jade travelled to China along the Silk Road. Today, most of it is shipped across the Pacific Ocean from B.C. It’s a trade story with parallels around the world and illustrates a trend that forms the very foundation of the modern global economy. For those who question the benefit of trade, I encourage them to look at B.C., where our economy is driven by an understanding of and connectivity to markets beyond local borders.

Shao Long Li is president of Green Mountain Jade.