Forestry Commission Wales has committed to continuing timber production at current levels – 770,000m³ annually – in its newly-published timber sales strategy.
The strategy, unveiled to forestry businesses on January 27 in Newtown, outlines the guiding principles for selling timber to sawmillers, processors and contractors for the next five years.
The commission consulted widely on the strategy so it could address the forestry industry’s concerns on the continuity of timber supply in the face of new markets such as biomass.
“The emerging markets for woodfuel and biomass have created exciting opportunities for low grade material since the last strategy was published, but we need to try to accommodate these in a way which allays the concerns of our traditional customers,” said the commission’s market development adviser Bill MacDonald.
He said FC Wales would continue to support the establishment of the biomass market but could mitigate a possible rush to fuelwood and allow time for the market to develop and mature by having a mix of marketing and sales methods.
“Our approach will be to sell timber on a wholesale basis to the market. In order to give a wide range of customers the opportunity to buy timber, we will continue to sell it mainly on the open market through our e-sales system,” he added.
It will also seek to encourage industry investment by continuing to offer long term contracts for timber supply, albeit with a focus on new objectives such as supporting investment in timber harvesting, especially thinning in difficult areas.
