Money grows on trees for forestry sector

SCOTLAND'S forestry industry adds £960 million to the country's economy, according to a new report published today on the UK's forestry industry.

The study by Edinburgh-based trade organisation ConFor reveals that north of the Border the industry directly supports 19,100 jobs with 401m paid out in salaries.

On a wider scale, the UK forestry industry, which includes the growing, harvesting and processing of trees, supports 167,000 people and pumps 7.2 billion into Britain's economy. The report, which was jointly commissioned by the Forestry Commission, said the industry helped to indirectly generate an additional 19.2bn of wealth while supporting an additional 560,000 jobs in the wider community.

The analysis was carried out by the Centre for Economic and Business Research and is the first serious review in recent times to quantify the value of the industry.

David Crichton, chief executive of ConFor and a former chief executive at Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothian, said: "This report demonstrates that Britain's forest products industry is a national asset. It is modern, dynamic and makes a significant contribution to the economy in generating wealth and creating jobs."

The study also states that forestry can make a powerful impact in combating destructive climate change with an estimated potential of 59,000 new jobs stemming from a developed biomass industry.