City Forests has boosted its bottom line after signing a $3 million carbon credit deal.
The Dunedin City Council-owned company applied to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry late last year to sell the carbon credits accumulated in 2008 and 2009.
Chief executive Grant Dodson confirmed last night 150,000 credits were sold to a New Zealand company, which could not be identified because of a confidentiality clause in the agreement.
The sale was a "welcome" boost to the company's profitability as it had been struggling with low log prices, high shipping costs and an adverse exchange rate.
Under New Zealand's emissions trading scheme, each year the company can apply for, and receive, credits for each tonne of carbon stored by its forestry.
About a third of the company's 16,1000ha of forestry was eligible, under the Kyoto agreement, to produce carbon credits as the trees were planted after 1990.
Mr Dodson expected the company to be in a position to sell more credits in the next 10 years.
Carbon sequestering was one of many environmental benefits forestry provided, he said.
