Forestry revenues in B.C. took a big hit last year, according to new financial data released by the province.

Mayor Ken Christian says even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry has had a long-lasting softwood lumber dispute with the U.S, and right now has a lack of pine-beetle-killed timber to harvest.

“Both of those have affected the total allowable cut, and we need to right-size the forest industry and that essentially means downsize. And we’re part of that equation.”

Forestry revenues were $930 million last year, compared to more than $1.35 billion a year earlier. That’s a drop of more than 30 per cent.

B.C.’s Jobs Minister Michelle Mungall says using more mass timber will be a way to retain jobs as the industry evolves.

She says commodity prices were going down for the forest sector when COVID-19 hit, which forced some mills to temporarily close down.

“What a lot of the industries are telling me is that they do have the capacity to weather the storm. Of course the forestry sector is seeing ups and downs right now. And what we need to think about when it comes to the forestry sector is innovation. With a specific focus on mass timber, and the opportunities that type of innovation presents for mass timber specifically.”

Mills in the Kamloops area, including places like Savona, Merritt and Lillooet, are now said to be running at full capacity.