THE State government has announced it will buy back 50,000 cubic metres from the biggest player in the North Coast's native forest timber industry, Boral, annually for the next nine years in a bid to safeguard ongoing log supply.
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The majority of logs will be the high-value Blackbutt species.
The move allows for the continuing maturing of North Coast forests and also means Blackbutt can be supplied to other sectors of the industry.
Timber industry representatives say it is an 'evening out' of volumes of supply of saw logs that will help to secure the future of many smaller mills and timber businesses across the region.
The buyback was agreed in negotiations between the Forestry Corporation of NSW and its largest hardwood customer on the North Coast, Boral.
It was recommended by the steering committee set up in 2012 to investigate the issues associated with timber supply in the region to the end of current wood supply agreements in 2023 and over the long term.
While North Coast forests are certified sustainable, projections show that without the buyback the volume of timber supplied to industry after 2023 would need to be dramatically reduced, according to Ministers for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson.
- More in this week's The Land.
Shan Goodwin
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
