Irish growers are missing out on nearly €1million in revenue each month due to the ongoing timber licensing crisis, say senior industry figures.
The backlog of around 5,000 licences had also led to an estimated €70 million per annum in lost revenue for Irish sawmills and a 700,000 tonne shortfall of Irish wood over the past two years.
That equates to approximately €1m in lost revenue to forestry growers, mainly farmers, each month.
Mark McAuley, director of Ibec’s Forest Industries Ireland said there have been some advances in tackling the licensing crisis.
However, the volume of new licence applications was making it difficult for department officials to clear the backlog.
According to Mr McAuley, plenty of Irish wood has not come to market despite high prices internationally.
“The trees are still there but any of these farmers will have missed out on their optimum time to sell,” he added.
“High prices internationally meant that Irish growers were missing a big opportunity at a time when a lot of European supply, particularly Scandinavian was being sent to markets such as the US.”
LSL News.