Delegation from Atlantic Canada hopes to expand ties with Vietnam
Published Friday November 27th, 2009
Economy: But only one New Brunswick entity - the port of Dalhousie - will travel to Asian nation
HALIFAX - It's being billed as an Atlantic Canadian trade mission, one designed to increase the region's trade with an emerging Asian powerhouse.
But the upcoming trip to Vietnam is turning out to be a predominantly Nova Scotian affair - with little representation from outside the Bluenose province.
New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island will each have a lone representative on the trip, while Newfoundland and Labrador won't be represented at all.
Nova Scotia's contingent, meanwhile, will consist of six organizations - including the Halifax port and airport authorities and two universities - all led by Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter.
Organized by the federal government's Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the mission will see a delegation of transportation and education officials travel to Vietnam for five days of meetings.
The purpose of the trip, which kicks off on Sunday, is to forge links between Atlantic Canada and Vietnam - whose economy has averaged 7.2 per cent growth in recent years.
"Their economy is booming. It's one of the fastest growing economies in the world," said Peter MacKay, the federal minister responsible for the Atlantic Gateway - a project aimed at boosting trade into the region.
"We want Vietnam shippers to consider coming to Atlantic Canada via the Suez Canal. Atlantic Canada is the closest entry port to the North American marketplace."
According to MacKay, Vietnamese container exports to the U.S. went up 12-fold between 2001 and 2008, surpassing container exports from India.
The idea is to steer some of that North American-bound cargo into Atlantic Canadian ports.
But MacKay could not explain the apparent lack of New Brunswick interest in the trip.
"Those are personal business decisions," he said.
According to ACOA, the only New Brunswick representative is the northern port of Dalhousie.
Port manager Brian Hyslop says the Asian trip is part of an effort to boost the port's container traffic.
"We have to start marketing ourselves. We're going over to basically tell the world that the port of Dalhousie is open for business," he said in an interview before leaving for Vietnam.
"We're the shortest route from Europe. We have CN rail that comes into our property and we have the shortest transit times into Montreal, Toronto and the U.S. Midwest.
"We're even better than Halifax as far as transit times go. We stack up quite well."
But other New Brunswick players are less keen on the Vietnam mission.
Take Capt. Al Soppitt, who heads the Saint John Port Authority.
"There's nothing really there for us at the present time. Any container vessels coming through the Suez Canal are obviously going to head for Halifax if they're going to hit Atlantic Canada," said Soppitt.
"Our strength is in north-south trade. We're looking toward the Caribbean, South America and the U.S. east coast."
Soppitt also said such trips are expensive. He just recently returned from a trade event in New Jersey, following a similar trade mission to Europe earlier this year.
"These missions cost money and you have to spend wisely," he said.
New Brunswick's transportation minister, Denis Landry, echoes Soppitt's sentiments when explaining why no one from the provincial government will attend the mission.
"Vietnam isn't really a current market for the different ports in New Brunswick," Landry said. "I'm not saying there won't be any opportunities, but we're not focusing on Vietnam at this time."
However, Landry said the province will be keen on attending a trade mission planned for Brazil in April of next year.
Yet for the Halifax Port Authority, the Vietnam trip offers a chance to increase what has become a large portion of the port's business.
According to port spokeswoman Michele Peveril, almost half the container cargo that flows through Halifax originates in Asia.
"For a number of years, southeast Asia has been one of the regions we've targeted," she said.
"We have a number of existing connections with Vietnam and we're looking to build more, plus increase the volume of cargo that is handled on that route."
The Halifax Port Authority will be joined on the trip by officials from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, CN and the Atlantic Gateway Advisory Council, a group of private sector representatives from all four Atlantic provinces.
Three universities - St. Mary's, Dalhousie and the University of Prince Edward Island - will also attend, looking to recruit international students.
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