British Columbia’s softwood sales to China could break one billion board feet per year at current growth levels, says provincial forests minister Pat Bell.
He said BC companies participating in a China trade mission secured 83 million board feet of new orders.
“If we continue with that pace on a monthly basis, that represents one billion board feet of lumber per year going into China – the equivalent production of four large BC sawmills,” he said.
Provincial softwood exports to China reached 552 million board feet from January-September, beating the record of 493 million board feet exported in all of 2007.
BC, through Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd and the Canada Wood Group, has been working over the past few years to diversify the province’s markets by demonstrating new uses for softwood products.
