Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
The State Ports Authority’s Board of Directors recently gave preliminary approval to agreements with two companies to bring wood-pellet storage and exporting facilities to the ports at Wilmington and Morehead City. The board’s action likely added to the optimism surrounding this industry.
Wood pellets are made from just about every part of the tree. They are very much in demand in Europe for use in energy production. Projections say that by the year 2020, 6 million metric tons of wood pellets could be moving through the two ports. The pellets could further boost exports of N.C. forestry products, which already total $1.5 billion.
Wood pellets are a prime example of the importance of the global market, as there isn’t a domestic market for wood pellets, at least not yet, the Commissioner tells Rhonda.
Click on the audio player below to listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda discuss the wood-pellet industry and how the manufacturing and export of this product could benefit North Carolina’s economy.
[Audio:http://info.ncagr.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Troxler_5-7.mp3|titles=Today’s Topic for May 7]
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