EU Imported firewood into the UK

[ash_smith123]

Yep my supplier said certainly wood was offering them £70+vat a ton for mixed hardwood a few weeks ago. It's good he's a honourable man and still supply us for £58-60+vat because we have been dealing with him for a good while. I think people like that are stuck, they have built there whole reputation around UK timber so have to pay big prices to keep up with their demand!

[R5log]

£52-£55 a ton delivered in south west for Oak and Beech

[Windy Trick]

Spoke to a guy yesterday, he has just sold 200 tons of assorted hard, all sorts of lengths and diameters at £60 a ton ride side for firewood. God knows how anyone is going to make a sensible return selling that.

 

A

True! The haulage contractor might make a sensible return!

[Windy Trick]

Ed, I took the time to read your lengthy post, and, interesting though your claims are, I see only pure conjecture and accusations of greed. How about some evidence?

[biggarlogs]

Ed I agree about your concerns for our native plants from imported plants and timber.we are an island so let's keep it local.how much has ash die back cost the nation?A lot more in the long run than the cost savings on imported trees I bet.

[arboriculturist]

Hi

 

Should we be importing foreign firewood. Not really. Alien organisms are the biggest threat to our woodlands, and non-woodland trees. of course it's all safe, and kiln dried firewood is safe. It's cheap fair enough, but the timber supplier still has to make a profit, as does the firewood supplier, and they will all seek to maximise that profit by cutting corners and cutting costs.

 

Does anyone actually believe that ash dieback was first imported into a Cambridgeshire nursery in 2012, when we had been importing plants from infected areas for 20 years or more. Of course not. But why did it not come to light. The suppliers didn't want to loose their sales, the nurseries didn't want to loose all their stock, so it just kept getting imported and distributed with a blind eye turned to the impact in the pursuit of profit.

 

Ever wondered how the phytophthora that's killing off the native juniper stands got here. A local nursery was provided with local seed to grow x number of junipers. They didn't meet the numbers required by the contract, (junipers are difficult to propagate from seed), so they imported some junipers and included them in the contract. Contract complete, albeit not as it should have been, but no one was any the wiser and they got paid. Trouble was, it wasn't just the junipers the nursery imported, they also imported the phytophthora which was then introduced into the wild and is now rampantly killing off our native juniper stands.

 

If you think importing foreign plant material/timber is fine you have your head in the sand. It's human nature to be greedy and that will lead to cost cutting and corner cutting, but that's fine because turning a blind eye and deceit are also human nature and as long as the profits are rolling in, who cares.

 

Keep it local, support your local growers and suppliers, and those using firewood to help pay for woodland management/restoration.

 

Ed

 

Great respect for saying what others dare not to. Human greed always shows up sooner or later and it just has to be accepted, however the bubble will burst for imports in due course for several reasons. One of which being, many end users don't realise that the wood they are buying is imported - when they do it will have an impact on their buying preferences. Keep Britain great - buy British. Good post Ed

[Wood wasp]

users don't realise that the wood they are buying is imported - when they do it will have an impact on their buying preferences.

 

I don't think it'll make any difference tbh

[arboriculturist]

users don't realise that the wood they are buying is imported - when they do it will have an impact on their buying preferences.

 

I don't think it'll make any difference tbh

 

Well, that's disheartening to hear if indeed that is the case.

[briquette_seller]

Ed I agree about your concerns for our native plants from imported plants and timber.we are an island so let's keep it local.how much has ash die back cost the nation?A lot more in the long run than the cost savings on imported trees I bet.

 

Your against importing firewood from the EU, but ok with importing it from Russia?

[briquette_seller]

 

Well, that's disheartening to hear if indeed that is the case.

 

I see your point, but we import so much of everything now a days, that its become socially acceptable.

40% of our food is imported for example.

Disheartening yes, but a fact of "modern" society