Canfor has reached an agreement to sell the forest tenure associated with the Vavenby sawmill to Interfor for a price of $60 million. The sale of the forest tenure is subject to customary closing conditions including the consent of the Minister of Forests. Closing is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2019.
"Due to the current and long-term log supply constraints we face in the Vavenby region, along with the high cost of fibre, we have made the very difficult decision to permanently close the sawmill and sell the associated forest tenure to Interfor. The ongoing depressed lumber markets have expedited this decision," said Don Kayne, President and CEO, Canfor.
"The BC forest industry has recognized for several years that sawmill capacity must be reduced as the annual allowable cut decreases following the end of the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic," said Kayne.
The Vavenby sawmill has an annual production capacity of approximately 250 million board feet.
Following the closure of Vavenby, Canfor will have 12 sawmills in Canada, with total annual capacity of approximately 3.55 billion board feet.
