More mill closures inevitable as B.C. forest industry crisis deepens

By Ted Clarke
Business in Vancouver
February 23, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Canfor’s plan to permanently shut down the pulp line at Prince George Pulp and Paper by March… is not the only grim reality facing the north central B.C. wood industry. The lack of economical fibre in the region and low lumber prices… means at least one more pulp mill in the region will likely be targeted for closure, according to forest industry expert Ben Parfitt. …The most likely pulp candidates for closure are Canfor’s Taylor mill, as well as one of West Fraser’s two mills in Quesnel, Cariboo Pulp and Paper or Quesnel River Pulp. Parfitt says the lack of fibre stems from B.C. encouraging harvesting of beetle-killed after infestations began in 2009. …The pellet wood industry that took root in Quesnel and Williams Lake around 2008… created a new sector that is competing with mills for pulp logs and increasing pressure on the forest industry. Parfitt said the province would have been better off to give value-added forest companies.

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