Market & Supply Updates
The Juniperus virginiana (Cedarwood Virginiana) and Juniperus mexicana (Cedarwood Texas) trees are legendary for their resilience, especially when faced with hot and dry conditions. There are 10 million cedar trees in Texas Hill Country alone, with countless millions more spread across the American Southeast. These are botanicals that are highly tolerant of windy and salty conditions, allowing them to survive in everything from brackish swampland to barren sand dunes. As such, the supply of cedar trees has not been affected by the recent extreme temperatures in Texas and elsewhere.
The same cannot be said for collectors and producers in the Southeast, though they are looking forward to some much-needed cool weather over the coming months. Securing a steady supply of oil remains challenging, but improvements continue to be made. We expect these numbers to ramp up as temperatures in the American Southeast continue to cool down.
Current Situation
For our producers and partners in the American Southeast, finding new labor remains difficult. Labor costs in the US are very high right now, and staffing is a major concern almost everywhere.
Thankfully, Berjé’s direct investment in collection equipment for cedarwood is coming to fruition, and wood deliveries have greatly increased in recent weeks. Costs remain very firm, but the availability of new material is returning to healthy and sustainable levels.
Future Outlook
Despite the ongoing delays and rising labor costs, production improvements and expansions continue to be made, albeit slowly. Berjé has made strong investments in the future of American cedarwood, and our recent facility improvements should result in increased oil volumes over the next few months. Production capacity continues to increase, and the supply of cedar trees remains massive. The material is out there; we are simply improving the labor and equipment required to process it.
