Industry rejects shortage claims
Timber shortage is down to the building boom not selling logs to China
Peter Jackson editor@northlandage.co.nz
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Sarita Parker (021) 434 881 northland@nzme.co.nz orest organisations have joined forces to reject claims that the shortage of framing timber is caused by foresters selling logs to China and not leaving enough to be processed for sale in New Zealand.
Wood Processors’ and Manufacturers’ Association chief executive Jon Tanner had been reported as saying that Chinese buyers were going to “extraordinary lengths” to buy logs, and blaming that for the short supply of sawn timber revealed last month when Carter Holt Harvey cut its supply to some of regular customers ITM, Bunnings and Mitre 10.
The president of the Forest Owners’ Association, Phil Taylor, pointed to the two biggest wood processors in New Zealand both publicly stating the shortage was mainly the result of the Covid emergence building boom.
Carter Holt Harvey issued a statement declaring the shortage would be short-term and industry-wide, thanks to a huge “timber appetite” and CHH’s difficulties with upgrading capacity at its Kawerau mill.
Red Stag chief executive Marty Verry said there was a worldwide building boom, and New Zealand was no exception, adding it was good to have the wisdom of hindsight, but no one had been going to pick Covid happening and its construction aftermath.
Taylor said the volume of the New Zealand timber market had been remarkably stable for at least the past two decades.
“On top of that, you can’t expect processors to have capacity on standby for extra sales at a level that hasn’t happened in the past 20 years.”.
The WPMA claim that the problem was log exports to China went back to the drive to get the Government to cross-subsidise local production with exports, which was the aim of the Shane Jones’ Log Mongers’ Bill last year.
“The WPMA was wrong then and it’s unfortunately wrong again now,” he said.
“Their colourful stories of Chinese buyers flying over forests to spot log supply from the air has nothing to do with this short-term problem.
“The WPMA is using a completely unrelated framing timber shortage to try to get government support for intervening against exports, which is the type of move the entire primary sector completely rejected last year.”
Farm Foresters’ Association president Graham West said farm foresters were getting into the peak years of harvesting from their 1990s plantings, and did not want the Government to control or tax their long-awaited harvest, as it appeared the WPMA was wanting the government to do.
“The WPMA says it wants the Government to make a level domestic and export playing field, but it is in fact demanding the complete opposite,” he said.
“As well, the logs supplied for export are generally not suitable to meet the house construction grades here in New Zealand. There is not that much overlap.
“I also have a real worry that the Government will be distracted away from the bigger strategic issues of supporting the use of timber, just at a point when it’s now encouraging New Zealanders to use it for good, sound environmental reasons.”
Taylor added the Forest Owners’ Association strongly supported a viable and sustainable timber processing industry.
“These mills buy nearly half of forest growers’ product. We need them to continue to operate, as do all New Zealanders,” he said.
“And in particular it’s welcome news to see the development of Red Stag’s cross-laminated timber plant. These modern engineered timber systems take better advantage of the intrinsic qualities of wood and can be used for higher-rise buildings to replace carbon-emitting concrete and steel construction.”