In a recent newsletter, Mississippi Loggers Association Executive Director David Livingston noted the state made history last year through the Mississippi Dept. of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) and the Southern U.S. Trade Association. (SUSTA). The MDAC hosted a foreign trade delegation from China, India and Vietnam that was looking to purchase and import southern yellow pine (SYP) timber and lumber to their respective countries.
According to Livingston, the event was the first time SUSTA has helped sponsor a trade mission on anything other than food products. “In order for our industry to grow and prosper, it needs to find new markets for the tremendous amount of raw materials we can produce,” he says.
The meeting included a sawmill, logging job and forestry tour on the first day, and a second day of meetings between Mississippi officials and timber industry representatives. Dept. of Agriculture and Commerce and Ginger Williamson, timber commerce liaison, organized two-day event.