Irish growers reap record prices for timber
Tuesday August 10 2010
FOREST owners are achieving record prices for their wood as the industry struggles to keep up with demand.
Wood prices paid to timber growers have more than doubled over the past six months, and even at average price levels of €67/m3, the industry cannot meet the demand for its output.
Roundwood is being imported from Scotland to supply the timber industry here, and this is now likely to continue into the future.
Wood supply from 670,000ha of Irish forests is set to increase from 3.8m cubic metres at present to 6.5m cubic metres by 2028, according to preliminary figures from the forestry sector.
Despite this increase in output, the current shortage in wood supply is set to grow to more than 1.8m cubic metres a year within the next eight years.
However, industry sources claim that cuts to Government spending in the sector will challenge planting targets and jeopardise thinning operations.
- Neil Brady
Irish Independent
