B.C.

The B.C. government says lumber exports to China have gone through the roof.

It says in the first 11 months of last year, the province had shipped 4.2 billion board feet of lumber to China, exceeding a goal of four billion set four years ago.

Exports are up 200 per cent from 2009, and their value has hit more than one billion dollars.

Jobs Minister Pat Bell calls the numbers astounding, saying about two dozen sawmills across B.C. have re-opened or added shifts partly because of the boost in exports to China.

He says China now takes about 29 per cent of all B.C. lumber exports, second only to the U.S., which accounts for 42 per cent of exports.