$250,000 Export Development Fund Launches

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The Prince Rupert Port Authority has launched a new funding initiative to help communities and economic development agencies assess new export opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.

The $250,000 Export Development Fund is a program to assist eligible organizations in developing new export opportunities across Canada’s northwest trade corridor. Opportunities could be related to an existing industry entering new markets, new or expanded industries that would be viable for export, or existing export industries that are not currently using the Port of Prince Rupert.

“Export-oriented industries have a disproportionately large impact on our local economies, and are critical to achieving economic growth and expansion,” said Ken Veldman, Director of Public Affairs for the Prince Rupert Port Authority. “By focusing on regional export ‘clusters’, and their need for competitive, reliable access to the markets that provide the most value, we hope to support a practical approach to growing our collective export trade portfolio.”

The goal of the Export Development Fund is to accelerate the identification and development of export opportunities, ultimately strengthening the economic vitality of communities across the northwest trade corridor. Throughout 2018 the Prince Rupert Port Authority will be working with interested organizations in a process that will hopefully see the fund fully allocated across multiple worthy projects.

Anchoring a strategic link between North America and Asia, the Port of Prince Rupert has become a trade solution for Canadian industries exporting to markets such as China, Japan, and South Korea. The value of trade flowing through the Port is equivalent to $35 billion annually, directly creating 3,100 jobs across northwest British Columbia, and supporting tens of thousands of jobs in Canadian industries like agriculture and forestry that rely on the Port to reach overseas markets.