Forestry and related services industry, 2015

The key findings of the Forestry and related services industry, 2015 discussion document include "The total income for the forestry and related services industry in 2015 was R16 573 million. The total income represents an increase of 8,9% over the income reported in the corresponding survey of 2014 (R15 220 million). Comparing 2014 and 2015, large increases were reported for 'forestry and related' (R1 3736 million); "The profit margin for the forestry and related services industry in 2015 was 11,9%. 'Forestry and related services' had a profit margin of 12,2%, while 'logging and related services' had a profit margin of 5,5%" and "The total number of persons employed in the forestry and related services industry at the end of June 2015 was 35 407. The 'forestry and related services' employed the largest number of persons (32 767 or 92,5%)."

"Statistics South Africa conducted a pilot of the forestry and related services industry for the two reference years 2014 and 2015. The surveys aimed to determine the nature and structure of the forestry and related services industry in terms. Financial and employment information was collected. This information is used in developing plans and policies to grow the industry, stabilise prices, create jobs and promote investment. The reason for publishing the results as a discussion document is to provide stakeholders (both users and respondents) an opportunity to give inputs on how we can improve the publication. The following are some of the challenges when conducting the survey: o An up-to-date administrative database of forestry entities, and o Difficulty in collecting production information (e.g. land size and quantity of various types of timber)."