WITH TEMPERATURES down, and snow and ice lingering, forestry owners across Scotland are coping with an upswing in the demand for firewood.

Jonathan Dymock of land and property firm Savills, which manages 500,000 acres of land across Scotland, said: "The recent well documented hikes in utility prices have strengthened homeowners' love of firewood. With more wintry weather approaching, our clients who have firewood enterprises have been stockpiling in anticipation of a surge in demand."

"General demand for firewood is increasing year on year, as consumers attempt to guard against the volatile oil and gas prices being demanded by utility companies," added Mr Dymock. "Meanwhile the swing towards greener energy sources is gathering momentum. Wood burners are very much in vogue. Another cold winter will push demand to new levels, which will benefit Scotland's rural economy," he predicted.

Alexander Dewar of Perth Timber commented: "Base demand is increasing year on year and a cold winter will have a silver lining for us. We are fortunate in that our forestry enterprise is located close to good transport links and we are well placed to benefit from continuing growth in demand.

"It will be interesting to see if supply can keep up," he added. "The challenge for us is to have enough seasoned firewood available."