Christmas comments from FICAThursday 22 Dec 2011 For people in New Zealand’s forest industry it’s going to be a great Christmas break. Why the cheerful disposition amid global uncertainty and gathering Euro-storm clouds you ask? It’s simple – both 2010 and 2011 have been great export production years for our industry. Never before have we produced or exported so much wood in log form at such attractive prices. What’s more, with every year that passes the outlook and position for forestry and forest products gets better and better. China takes our logs by the shipload, Japanese customers who used to take logs now buy more value-added forest products from us – mostly processed here, and India is starting to take logs in much larger volumes than ever before. The challenge is to produce more valuable wood products for export in the future.Forestry is really starting to fulfill its promised potential and beginning to earn its way for New Zealand Inc (the collective good) and especially for our rural communities. There is even better news set to come about export earnings, employment numbers and flow-through to rural economies. It’s coming from a positive collective energy among the key players who control the supply chain. Our industry is about to act on a combined industry strategy to be proactive in capturing and growing market share for wood in the near future. Contractors and wood processors alike are getting in behind it. Apart from a slight dip in the year ending September 2008 annual log export earnings in the forest industry have grown from $400 million to over $1.6 billion. The success story behind the figures is that since the passing of the dominating and very large corporates - Fletcher Challenge and Carter Holt Harvey – there is now a will to be proactive among the many smaller players in key parts of the industry. Forestry is not limited by natural resources for future potential growth and industry expansion. Many hundreds of small forests planted in a boom starting in the late 1980’s are set to mature over the next decade. One of the challenges for people who want to grow forestry’s contribution to our local and national economy is this: there is a need to add more value not just more volume to the products we produce. Through prior planning there is now potential prosperity for innovative new wood producers. Local developments in engineered wood products at Canterbury University and in cross-laminated timber in Nelson are likely to be great contributors to post-quake rebuilding of commercial buildings in Christchurch CBD and further afield. Finally, as forestry exports continue to grow, people in the wider community will become aware of it’s potential as a customer, employer and business partner. As the owners of 1990’s forest generate wealth from their investments I predict there will plenty more willing landowners looking to plant marginal agriculture land which can earn carbon credits, recognising forestry’s environmental values, on its way to harvest maturity to make further social and economic contributions to the many rural communities that make up our fine country. Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for a Prosperous New Decade … from everyone in forestry! John Stulen,Chief Executive, Forest Industry Contractors Association |
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