News

December 22, 2008

Now Forestry Asks For A Helping Hand

By Sally White

Forestry has joined other industries in calling for emergency aid, with Canada’s beleaguered sector now in the long list of troubled producers queuing at governments worldwide. Not cash, but tax changes and better access to bank credits is being requested by the Forest Products Association of Canada. Given the state of timber’s major customer, construction, it will not be long before it is followed by its peers elsewhere.

Canada has been particularly had hit, with timber prices the lowest for two decades. Demand has been depressed by the sub-prime housing crisis in the US, an inflated Canadian dollar and high energy costs. Analysts are predicting more bleak times ahead for the whole of the forestry and paper sector there. All the shares are down heavily, from Paper Corp to Mercer International Inc, Domtar Corp and International Forest Products among others. There may be some hope, however. Finance Minister Jim...