An independent study has been commissioned into whether Scotland and Northern England’s forests will be able to meet massively increased future demand for wood fibre.

The study has been commissioned by leading wood processors and woodland management companies, with input from the Forestry Commission, the Confederation of Forest Industries (ConFor) and the Wood Panel Industries Federation (WPIF).

It is hoped that the study – the first of its kind to be commissioned in Scotland – will provide a clearer forward picture of the softwood fibre supply and demand balance in Scotland and Northern England for the period 2005-2015.

“UK wood production was recorded at 11 million cubic metres in 2004 and the forecast of future coniferous wood production potential from the Forestry Commission and private wood growers indicate that this figure could rise to 14.5 million cubic metres by 2012,” said Alan Bloomfield, convenor of the steering group responsible for commissioning the study.

“However, a fast changing forest industry scenario, with an increasing number of wood processing and biomass energy projects announced or planned, has led to a demand for more accurate information to be available to all industries with an interest in the use of wood fibre. It is hoped that this will provide a clearer and more comprehensive forward picture of availability of biomass over the next decade.”

Demand for wood fibre – which includes logs, sawdust, chips, bark and other biomass – in Scotland is expected to be substantial during the next ten years.

Power company E.ON recently announced plans to build a biomass power-plant in Lockerbie, which will require 450,000 tonnes of biomass material each year in order to operate. A £1billion wood processing plant, operated by Forscot, is planned for Invergordon in the Highlands and this alone will consume 3.8million cubic metres of wood per annum.

“There are concerns that the wood fibre and other infrastructural demands of these and other planned projects may be in excess of the potential practical and economic availability,” added Bloomfield.

“The major proportion of incremental wood demand will be from the private woodland sector where long-term supply guarantees may be a challenging issue.”

Bloomfield is currently conducting a strategic review of wood procurement for his company Norbord, the UK’s leading producer of engineered wood products. Norbord manufactures wood-based panel products, including Particleboard, Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) and Oriented Strand Board (OSB), which are used throughout the building, construction, furniture and DIY industries, at three UK plants, including Inverness and Cowie in Stirlingshire.

He believes the fact that a number of competing industries – the study will be financed by over 20 companies from a range of sectors – are coming together to commission the survey proves that self-interest is simply not an accusation that can be levelled.

He said: “No study as comprehensive in its remit of looking at current and future projected demand on wood fibre has ever been commissioned previously. However, affected industries, users and forest managers alike, have now come together and we will soon have access to the best available information on supply and demand.

“The study will aid business planning by putting a scale on the supply and demand balance and allowing co-ordinated decisions to be made by looking at the bigger picture. This is not self-interest, it is about sensible planning for the future well-being of the country and its economy. The industry supports incremental and sustainable growth in existing and new wood processing, but not the substitution of efficiently run existing businesses.”

Tim Rollinson, Forestry Commission Director General, said: "The Forestry Commission is committed to working with industry to promote sustainable development in the forest sector. Continuing investment in the industry is essential and we will be making information available on future fibre flows to the planned study."

David Crichton, ConFor Chief Executive, said: “Sustainable new investment in our industry is very welcome. But we also need to be confident that there are sufficient supplies of fibre and other materials to support existing, competitive businesses. ConFor therefore welcomes this study as an important contribution to gathering the hard evidence required.”

The study, being conducted by Guy Watt of John Clegg Consulting Ltd, is designed to cover softwood sawlog, small roundwood, biomass and sawmill products supply and demand in Scotland and Northern England. Phase I of the study will look at the ‘big’ picture and be undertaken with a target completion date of the 31st December 2005.

Phase II will examine the regional perspective examining wood fibre supply and demand in North, Mid & South Scotland, respectively, together with that of Northern England and has a completion date of 31st March 2006. In addition short rotation coppice (SRC), forest residues, recycled wood fibre, the sawlog quality issue, and the ‘testing’ of private sector wood production forecast input are likely to be examined.