A sharp increase in exports of sawlogs from privately owned forests is forecast this month, with one firm aiming to ship close to 25,000t of windblown timber to the continent.

Lee Johnson of LJR Forestry said the company aims to have “multiple boats” going from “multiple ports” by the end of the month.

Last week the firm shipped its first load of sawlogs from Dundalk Port to Belgium.

The company aims to ship sawlogs from Limerick and New Ross in the coming weeks, with a vessel taking pulpwood also being scheduled.

Johnson said LJR had two sets of harvesters and forwarders harvesting last week, and plan to have four or five sets working by the end of next week.

“We have 25,000t of sawlog exports scheduled for May, and that should increase by 10,000t for June,” Johnson told the Irish Farmers Journal.

In addition, LJR aims to ship between 5,000t and 8,000t of pulpwood twice a month.

In terms of securing timber supplies, Johnson said LJR was getting a “very positive response from both farmers and forestry management companies”.

Irish Forest Owners (IFO) chair Derek McCabe welcomed the entry of exporters into the timber market.

McCabe pointed out that last week’s Dundalk shipment was from a 10ha forest that was “completely flattened by storm Éowyn”.

The IFO chair claimed that the entry of the exporters into the market, and their willingness to pay for timber by volume rather than by weight, was a very positive development for forest owners.

“The game has now changed and a new era of transparency has dawned on the sector. Family forest owners can now expect a fair price for their product,” McCabe said.

“The IFO is careful not to endorse any one forestry operator over another, but when a forestry operation is willing to pay a fair price for timber, pay per volume, and pay over the harvesting head, it’s difficult not to take notice,” he said.