§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty' Government:
Whether they will instruct Forest Enterprise to take full account of the interests of private forest producers when deciding the size of their own annual production of softwood thinnings and setting acceptable prices for it. [HL3811]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Hayman)Forest Enterprise already takes account of the interests of private forest producers when deciding the size of its own annual production. By publishing annual timber production targets, which are based on long term production forecasts, it helps to bring confidence and stability to the market, benefiting processors and growers alike. The prices obtained for the timber are set by the market, not by Forest Enterprise, as they are strongly linked to the prices of imported timber. This is because the United Kingdom imports about 85 per cent of its timber requirements. If Forest Enterprise was not prepared to sell its timber at a competitive price, end users would simply switch to buying imported timber.