OVERTON — Economic crises in Asia, Russia and Brazil have hurt wood and paper exports but helped the U.S. timber product industry, according to an economist with a Washington-based national trade association of the forest, paper, and wood products industry.
Wood exports to Japan, for example, are down 31 percent from a year ago, while paper exports to Europe and Asia are down approximately 6 percent, said Stan Lancey, chief economist with the American Forest and Paper Association in Washington, D.C.
Lancey will be one of the featured speakers at the upcoming Build East Texas (BET) Agricultural Conference, set March 19 at the Norman Activity Center, in Jacksonville.
While the economic woes of other countries have hurt U.S. exports, they have indirectly helped the domestic market for wood products, particularly lumber. With the U.S. economy stable and robust, overseas investors have moved funds here, which helped to keep interest rates (and mortgage rates) low. Low mortgage rates have bolstered the construction of new homes, thereby increasing the demand for lumber, according to Lancey.
“The trend of new homes to be bigger has also driven up domestic wood construction,” Lancey said.
Lancey also will talk about the role of the South in filling markets that the Northwest United States lost due to environmental concerns, and the long-term implications of increased timber harvesting on the region.
Other conference speakers will include Leo McDonnell, president of the Ranchers’-Cattlemen’s Action Legal Foundation, Columbus, Mont.; Sandra Risinger, county Extension agent from Longview; and Tootie Byrd, retired school counselor and humorist from Austin.
McDonnell will explain how his organization is pursuing trade remedies against live cattle imports. Byrd’s talk is titled “Importance of Agriculture in Rural America.”
The Build East Texas program area consists of 37 counties in East Texas, including Anderson, Angelina, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Franklin, Freestone, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Hopkins, Houston, Jasper, Leon, Madison, Marion, Morris, Nacogdoches, Newton, Panola, Polk, Rains, Red River, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Walker and Wood.
Membership in BET is voluntary and is open to all. The Texas Agricultural Extension Service, a part of the Texas A&M University System, works closely with the Build East Texas Program. Those wishing more information about BET membership or its programs should contact their local county Extension office.
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