Rayonier is to sell its timber harvest and management leasehold rights on about 5,500 acres in north-east Florida for US$26m.

The sale, to be completed during the second quarter, is expected to give the company US$23.5m in operating income and US$15m in net income.

Rayonier, which plans to reinvest the proceeds in timberland, has more than two million acres of timber and land in the US and New Zealand.