BC Timber Sales Faces Headwinds Amid Softwood Tariffs and Curtailments

A BC Timber Sales (BCTS) manager for the Kootenay-Boundary region warned this week that the agency may face challenges selling timber as local mills grapple with new US trade duties, MyKootenayNow reported (10-8-25).

Speaking to the Castlegar City Council, BCTS manager George Edney said the organization—which manages and auctions about 20% of Crown timber—has sales opening next week in the Boundary region but is uncertain how much buyer interest they will attract.

“We’ll just see how [the auctions] go, because we’re a little bit nervous with Interfor. We’ll see if they bid on them,” Edney said in response to a question.

Interfor has indefinitely curtailed its Grand Forks mill due to persistently weak market conditions, while its Castlegar operation has planned minor downtime. Edney noted that unsold timber can be reoffered at lower upset prices or withdrawn, but current conditions could cause “real big problems” for BCTS sales in the coming months.

Canadian softwood producers currently face 35% duties on exports to the US, with a new 10% tariff set to take effect next week. Edney said the added tariffs are having a “major” impact on local operators despite price improvements, and he anticipates further shutdowns if conditions persist.

BCTS sold 581,000 m³ of timber in the Kootenays in 2024–25 (more than in the Kamloops, Okanagan, or Cariboo regions—attributed to a wider mix of tree species and buyers). The agency’s 2025–26 target is 715,000 m³, with 102,000 m³ sold in Q1, short of its 123,000 m³ Q2 goal, and projections of 195,000 m³ for Q3 and 295,000 m³ for Q4.