(Submitted photo/Government of Saskatchewan)

By Elliott Knopp

Northern Forestry

Saskatchewan’s forestry sector profits increase significantly in 2020

May 12, 2021 | 3:12 PM

The Government of Saskatchewan has announced the province’s forestry sector has seen a significant increase in business over the last year.

The provincial government stated the industry’s forest product sales increased by nearly 30 per cent from the previous year’s numbers, bringing the 2020 sales figures to $1.1-billion. The government credits the increase to a rise in the international market’s demand and record-high prices for some products including lumber, oriented strand board (OSB) and treated wood products.

Indigenous-owned businesses and workers made significant contributions to this growth in profit. The province reported more than 27 per cent of the forestry workforce is comprised of Indigenous workers. A media release from the provincial government mentioned the NorSask Forest Productions mill located in Meadow Lake is the largest 100 per cent Indigenous-owned forest products mill in the country.

In the release, Meadow Lake Tribal Council Industrial Investments president and CEO Al Balisky said the mill’s profits are used to stimulate the economies for the council’s nine communities.

“Proudly owned by the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, profits from our NorSask Forest Products operation drives capital investment to increase the mill’s production capacity, as well as supporting economic development, providing jobs and social programs, as well as infrastructure for the nine First Nations communities represented in the Tribal Council,” Balisky said in the release.

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Despite concerns with the market at the beginning of the year brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, forestry is currently the largest economic sector in the northern region of the province with nearly 8,000 jobs.

According to the Government of Saskatchewan, the province exports around 75 per cent of its primary forest products to the rest of the world with last year’s exports being valued at more than $700-million. The province expects to continue producing record-high numbers for timber and other forest products through 2022.

Included in Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan is a target to increase the forestry sector’s growth to twice its current figures by 2030. The province stated the sector could potentially bring in $2-billion each year through forest product sales while providing nearly 12,000 jobs for residents.

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elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp