Notwithstanding the distressing performance of some of the country’s prominent listed forestry companies in recent times, thousands of individual investors remain convinced that the sector has a worthwhile long-term future.
Trend analyst BIS Shrapnel predicted about three years ago that global demand for laminated veneer lumber (LVL) would increase 30% by 2006 as the international wood industry switches from large, old-growth trees to smaller logs from plantations and regrowth.
After several years of painful struggle trying to create a national standard under Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) guidelines, the New Zealand forest industry is turning to other options. And, as Elizabeth Howarth reports, the new favourite seems to be the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) - already chosen by radiata cousins Australia and Chile.
It is time for a revolution in natural resource thinking and management in Australia, according to Professor Michael Archer. The high profile NSW University Dean of Science’s ‘revolution’ is all about sustainably using native resources
When you say you are going to Fiji, the natural assumption is that you are off on holiday. Apart from tourism, few think of the islands as a place of endeavour. But as Dr Angus McPherson reports, business development opportunities include one of the potential future stars of the economy - mahogany
The New Zealand sawmilling industry, led by Carter Holt Harvey, appears to be on the verge of one of its biggest ‘ramp-ups’ for years. A lot of the resulting production will be targeted at the geographically handy Queensland house framing market - as Tony Neilson reports.
When competing companies stopped thinking small and began working together as a team, they created a market for pine that didn’t previously exist - as Liz Light reports.
Pine lumber exporters thinking about a huge and lucrative new market in China for structural grades are likely to be seriously disappointed, according to Mathew Brady, the United States forest and paper industry’s man on the spot.
