The Québec Forestry Industry Council said exports overseas fell by C$2bn to C$20bn and low lumber prices meant the average producer was losing about US$50 on every thousand board feet.
Even though 5 billion board ft had been taken out of the system by closures, a spokesperson said: “All we can do is wait for the cycle to turn and prices to pick up.”
Overall, Canadian softwood volumes sold overseas rebounded to 2.3 billion board ft, up 10% on 2005, Random Lengths International reported.
Japan, which accounts for about two-thirds of Canada’s offshore exports, increased business by 6%, while shipments to China were up 33%, South Korea was up 39% and Taiwan 13%.
