The provincial government says Saskatchewan’s forestry sector is booming. Over $1.1 billion worth of forest products were sold in 2020. The government says that’s an almost 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Prices for many forest products are now at record highs. COVID-19 initially created market uncertainty in the forestry sector, but since last summer, global market demand has surged for home construction and renovation materials.
Forestry is currently northern Saskatchewan’s largest sector, supporting nearly 8,000 jobs.
More than 75 per cent of Saskatchewan’s primary forest products are exported to other countries. Last year, forest product exports were valued at $700 million.
There are seven major primary forest products facilities that produce lumber, OSB and pulp, and over 200 smaller businesses that supply a variety of primary and secondary forestry products.
Hundreds of supply chain businesses also provide goods and services for forestry manufacturers, including in road construction, logging, trucking, reforestation and forest management.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Saskatchewan’s forestry sector has been enhanced by a growing Asian economy and ongoing housing recovery in the U.S., which is seeing the highest number of housing starts in 15 years.
the province says, Saskatchewan is also home to the largest, 100 per cent First Nations-owned forest products mill in Canada, and Indigenous people comprise over 27 per cent of the province’s total forestry sector workforce – the highest of any province. There are also dozens of Indigenous-owned forestry businesses, ranging from saw mills and timber harvesting operations to road construction, trucking and reforestation.
Saskatchewan is expected to harvest and produce record levels of timber and levels of forest products into 2022. Development of the sector has the potential to generate over $2 billion in forest products sales annually. Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan includes a goal to double the growth of the province’s forestry sector by 2030.
