ITP to boost industry
WORKING WITH INDUSTRY, THE FORESTRY AND WOOD PROCESSING
Industry Transformation Plan (ITP), announced late last year at Fieldays, is intended to create new domestic opportunities for the sector; grow the wood processing sector by 3.5 million cubic metres (25%) by 2030; grow export earnings from value-added wood products by $600 million by 2040; and increase the use of domestic timber in construction by 25% by 2030.
An initial investment of $2.5 million from the Government, plus another $1 million from industry contributions, will see a series of initiatives rolled out from 2023 onwards. These initiatives include:
• A diversification programme to improve the opportunities for nonradiata species to be grown and milled in New Zealand.
• Establishing New Zealand’s first post-graduate qualification in wood processing.
• Scaling up the Wood – Our Low-Carbon Future campaign that demonstrates the benefits of low-carbon products derived from locally grown logs.
• Research that identifies how the use of wood products can be increased, by improving standards, and options to recognise the benefits of carbon stored in wood products.
• A business case for a new facility to support commercialisation of bio products.
• Providing support for a Māori forestry strategy.
“The ITP sets the path for future export growth that does not just rely on exporting logs and instead opens up domestic opportunities such as converting wood into high-tech, low-carbon products such as construction materials, including timber frames, fence paling and decking, and into bio-materials such as liquid and solid fuels.
“We will also develop our domestic woody biomass industry that takes forestry by-products such as branches, bark, chips and sawdust and turns them into products such as pellets and particleboard, and into bio-fuels to power our transport, make plastics and pharmaceuticals, and replace high-emissions materials in our buildings.
The Government allocated $27 million in Budget 22 to support delivery of the ITP, and has ring-fenced another $155 million to support ITP-related initiatives and projects.