Indiana officials have announced a new investment strategy that focuses on bolstering the state’s hardwood industry, Indiana Business reports.
The hardwood industry brings in more than $10 billion to Indiana’s economy every year and helps employ more than 70,000 people in high-wage jobs, according to Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. The new strategy will focus on business development, education about the sustainability of wood, and marketing.
Indiana’s hardwood exports amounted to $250 million in 2017, but it imported $230 million worth of sawmill products from outside of the state, Crouch told Indiana Business.
“We recognize there’s a real opportunity and excess demand here in Indiana that we can fill within our own state,” Crouch said.
The state’s forests are also growing in volume more than 3.3 times the amount of timber extracted annually from the state.
Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler told Indiana Business that the investment will lead to jobs that pay above the state average.
“The work that we did on the strategy found that about $66,000 is the average wage in the industry, which is about 20 percent higher than Indiana’s average wage,” Kettler said.
