SCOTTISH FORESTS “LARGEST FOR 700 YEARS”

Scotland now has more woodland than at any time since the 14th Century, according to a new report, which UK sawmillers say signals further development of their industry.

The Forestry Commission report, based on an aerial survey of Scotland, found 17.2% of the country, or 1.3 million hectares, is now covered in forest. This compares with about 5% at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Hamish MacLeod, president of the UK Forest Products Association and general manager at Howie Forest Products, welcomed the report’s findings as “good news for Scottish sawmillers”.

“This gives us more scope for development. But what we have got to consider is that this assumes that the market is there. This is not automatically the case because we have global competitors in the UK market and we have got to have the right quality and be price competitive.”

The report says 10,000 hectares of trees have been planted each year in Scotland since the 1990s and that 50% of all new forests are Sitka spruce.