In the mid-1990s we were planting over 20,000 hectares a year
400,000 hectares of Sitka spruce were planted in the Eighties and Nineties. Photo: Getty
Irish timber sales to the UK could double to €2bn a year over the next 15 years, with a huge amount of Irish commercial forestry set to mature, according to one industry lobby group.
Last week Forestry Industries Ireland (FII) met its UK counterpart, Confor, in Belfast.
“This is a big market opportunity for Irish commercial forestry,” said FII director Mark MacAuley.
The UK supplies only 20pc of its own timber needs and is the world’s second biggest importer
“We’ve developed this big national resource of 400,000 hectares of Sitka spruce planted in the Eighties and Nineties that will be available over the next 15 years or so. The timing is good, with huge demand predicted in the UK for that time period.”
The maturation of these forests will double the supply of Irish timber.
“We’ll also be looking to double our exports,” he said. “This year is not necessarily a boom year for timber sales in the UK, but they’re expecting big numbers down the road.”
The UK supplies only 20pc of its own timber needs and is the world’s second biggest importer of timber. It imports about 6m cubic metres of sawn softwood a year – mainly from Scandinavia – with Ireland supplying about 7pc in total. That is currently worth about €1bn.
“We are looking to grow that market share, as it’s really the only volume export market that we have,” said McAuley.
But the supply boom may not last beyond a 15-year period, he said.
The peak for planting in Ireland was in the mid-1990s when we were planting over 20,000 hectares a year.
“Now we are only planting 2,000 hectares,” he said.