So prolific were the new business strategies and successes announced at the Singapore International Furniture Fair (IFFS) in March that the biggest – a S$6.5 billion global market share objective – almost slipped under the radar.

With some exasperation, Dr Glen Kile of the Australian Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Council (FWPRDC) told delegates at a recent seminar that the timber industry had yet to deal with lessons that should have been learnt and acted on in the past.

The Inwood conference ‘Global Vision set out to “change the way you think and evolved into the importance of the ‘speed’ at which you think. Market trends are changing at an ever-increasing rate and to keep pace companies and industries must think and act fast.

New Zealand forest owners are worried that any moves to put the rural firefighting service under national management could put lives, forests and property at risk.

The face of the global furniture industry will never be the same, with dramatic changes to the way products are made and how they are sold. This special report from South-East Asia includes reviews of two of the region’s major shows – in Malaysia and Singapore.

For the New Zealand economy the message is mixed – while a depreciating dollar will put pressure on inflation and interest rates, a lower exchange rate will be a welcome boost for exporters.

New research shows the global pulpwood fibre demand shift from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere and Asia is accelerating in 2005-06. But there is is little cheer for New Zealand.

In China anything’s possible and everything’s difficult. This advice, from a China expert, is worth bearing in mind as the industry seeks to expand its bridgehead for New Zealand pine in the country.