Friday Offcuts – 11 December 2009
Pre-Copenhagen negotiations have been drawn out. They've dragged on now for almost two years. Some continue to argue that international agreement is unnecessary given that just five nations - China, the US, Russia, India and Japan - are contributing 60 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If they act and come to the party - emissions slow - otherwise we're all wasting our time. Stand by for media saturation of the Copenhagen gathering and agreements over the next week. A reminder that early-bird registrations for the pan industry event, Future Forestry Finance 2010 being organised with a wide cross section of the forestry & finance industries and industry associations throughout Australia and New Zealand FINISH next week, on Friday 18 December. So, if planning on heading away on holiday early this year, click on www.forestryfinanceevents.com to access the early discounts before leaving for your break. And finally, Friday Offcuts' last issue for 2009 will be next Friday. For those placing advertisements, either, a one week placement can be taken to finish on the 18 December 2009, or you can take advantage of longer than just the one week advertising with advertisements staying listed on the Friday Offcuts website over the Xmas break. The first issue for 2010 is scheduled to go out on Friday 15 January 2010. For more than one week's advertising taken out next week - a minimum of four weeks is going to be guaranteed. Subscribe a friend
This week we have for you:
PaperlinX to exit Tasmanian manufacturing operations
PaperlinX Ltd on Monday announced that, following a comprehensive ten month review of the opportunities for its Tasmanian paper manufacturing operations it has decided to close its Wesley Vale operation and part of the operations at Burnie. It is continuing to explore a sale of the remaining operations at Burnie as an alternative to its complete closure. All approvals needed for this decision have been granted.
Finance Sector to gain insight into forestry's future
A pan-forest-industry conference in Sydney on 1-2nd March and again in Auckland on 4-5th March 2010 will focus on strengthening ties between the finance and forest products industries in Australasia. The global recession has forced many industries to review their attitudes to risk and industry growth. Meanwhile Australian and New Zealand forestry has prospered through 2009 through exports and now looks set to capitalise on improving business conditions for both domestic and export products.
Gunns completes acquisition of ITC Timber
Gunns Limited has completed the acquisition of ITC Timber Pty Ltd for AU$88.5m. This follows the announcement from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on 27 November 2009 that it will not oppose the revised proposed acquisition. The revised transaction excludes ITC Timber's 50 per cent interest in the Smartfibre woodchip venture.
New Scion bioenergy report released
Scion has recently released the fifth and final report under the three-year Bioenergy Options for NZ study. Transition Analysis considers the potential for energy supply of woody biomass from existing forests and drivers for change in NZ's energy supply. The earlier reports are: Bioenergy Options - Situation Analysis, Bioenergy Options - Pathway Analysis, Research and Development Strategy and Analysis of Large-scale Bioenergy from Forestry. The reports are available at: www.scionresearch.com
Forest nutrient levels using satellite technology
"We've moved a step closer to being able to provide forestry managers with practical tools to help them plan more effective fertiliser applications and research programs," says Dr Neil Sims, CSIRO remote sensing research scientist and co-author of the project report. "Radiata pine growth in southern Australia is often restricted by low soil fertility. Currently, forestry companies spend more than $10m annually checking nutrient levels and applying fertilisers. However, field samples may not adequately represent the range and distribution of nutrient concentrations across the wider plantation. If fertiliser is applied where it is not required, valuable nutrients can be lost through run-off and other natural processes and can find their way into local waterways where they can lead to environmental problems, such as undesirable algal growth." A FWPA funded project compared satellite image data with field measurements obtained from the same plantations. The project used hyperspectral satellite images to map concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc, copper and boron in radiata pine foliage and found the images could potentially provide accurate information across entire plantations. "There is no other way to get data of this kind," says Sims. "You still need to collect and test some field samples to calibrate the satellite data, but the satellite data can be used to direct the field sampling to the most undernourished areas and will also tell you about any problem areas in between your sampling points." Potential cost savings are substantial: images used in the project cost around $0.09 per hectare of plantation compared to $2 to $5 per hectare for airborne images taken from a plane. HVP Plantations manager Stephen Elms concludes: "Remote sensing techniques have the potential to offer quicker and more comprehensive results than our standard field sampling practices." For copies of the report click here Forestry establishment, fertiliser and spray application and advancements in plantation silviculture will provide the focus for next year's ForestTECH 2010 series which is being planned for New Zealand and Australian forestry managers and technical staff later in 2010. Further details will be sent out early next year. Source: Leading Edge
Chinese version of NZ Radiata pine manual now out
For those Kiwis travelling into or doing business in China, NZ Trade & Enterprise have just added a Chinese version on line of the excellent NZ Pine Manual. The 75 page well illustrated manual covers logs, lumber and other wood products and how radiata pine can be processed and finished. Check out the link or contact your local NZTE office for further information.
Japanese companies to close forest venture in Australia
Japanese papermakers Mitsubishi Paper Mills Ltd. and Hokuetsu Kishu Paper Co. will liquidate their seven-company forestry venture in Adelaide, Australia, Bloomberg reported 2 December. The Japanese companies and their partners, Mitsubishi Corp., Nippon Yusen KK, Aeon Co., Chubu Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Gas Co., will end the venture because of high land prices and restrictions on water use in the area, reported Bloomberg.
Latest Australian Timber Market Survey report released
The latest issue of the Timber Market Survey (TMS) prepared by URS Forestry has been released. The TMS provides comprehensive information on timber price movements and market trends in Australia. The TMS report is published quarterly. It contains national price indexes for a range of timber products, as well as an update on economic conditions influencing wood product markets and the latest trade data. TMS price data are collected through quarterly surveys of a representative sample of timber market participants in eastern Australia.
33 million woolly walking stores of carbon?
'The Australians may be clutching at wool on the issue of wool carbon but we need to keep a watching brief on what the Australians are up to," says Bruce Wills, Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre chairperson. "The Australians claim that carbon makes up to half of wool's composition and if true, it would represent a carbon store of 64,000 tonnes walking around New Zealand's farms right now." More >>
Future of NSW's red gum forests
The NSW Premier's announcement last week to declare 42,077 hectares of the Millewa Group Red Gum Forests as National Park, makes a mockery of due process and consideration of the views of stakeholders. Many submissions have been made to the NRC, which was due to make its recommendations to Government on 21 December 2009. The IFA deplores the announcement because the concept of saving these forests by creating new National Parks flies in the face of scientific evidence about the interaction of future water flows and management of the number of trees per hectare to preserve a healthy forest. Expansive areas of the regrowth river red gum forest are dead or dying from a lack of water. If water supply to these forests continues to be inadequate many more red gum trees will die without active intervention. The IFA is concerned that transferring the red gum forests into National Park will not achieve the desired conservation outcomes or restore the forests' health. The IFA promotes pro-active management so that regrowth forests under threat are thinned out and the remaining number of trees per hectare is reduced to a level which retains forest structure, but trees survive. Under National Park tenure there are no current provisions for thinning for timber. Forests reserved in National Park will not be permitted to be harvested and the dead trees that remain in the forest may be expected to become a serious fire hazard. The IFA understands that timber supplies will need to reduce but the levels of reduction are largely dependent on the tenure of the forests and policy for future management. The IFA believes that retaining tenure for these forests which allows for timber harvesting and continuing timber supply at a level which meets the range of objectives, is a far better socio-economic and environmental outcome than the alternative of locking up the forests in National Park.
20% of Chairman's stock in Gunns offloaded
Chairman John Gay of Gunns Ltd offloaded 20% of his directly owned stock in the company during the first week of December, at a value of AU$3.09 million, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) announced on 8 December after trading closed, The Examiner reported. It's reported that the sale was sending a poor sign to investors about the short-term future of the Tasmania-based company and its efforts in securing funds for its AU$2.5 billion Bell Bay pulp mill project. However, another purchase of Gunns stock a day earlier cast a positive light on the company's long-term future after value manager Investors Mutual Ltd. had bought 12.5 million shares in the past four months to become a substantial shareholder with a voting power of 5.21%.
Increased opportunities for CNI forest industry
A steady increase in regional wood availability will lead to new opportunities for the Central North Island (CNI) wood processing sector and the wider community say the authors of the latest wood availability forecast report.
NZ log exports to China up 174% in first 9 months
In 2008, the Chinese wood products industry slowed from the rapid growth of the previous eight years. As the global economic recession deepened, Chinese wood product exports contracted significantly in 2008. However, the Chinese government introduced a US$730 billion economic aid package in late 2008 to stimulate domestic demand in lieu of exports, and maintain overall economic growth. By Q2/09, most wood product manufacturers were seeing stronger demand (due to growing domestic consumption), and began to increase output.
People on the move
On the 23rd of November, Romon Spiers was appointed General Manager of Flight Timbers Ltd in Marlborough, New Zealand. Departing GM Lochy Beckham has been with Flight Timbers for 21 years and prior to that spent 25 years at Pine Milling Co Ltd in Rotorua. He will continue with his directorship role in the company as well as becoming more involved in special projects and specific engineering aspects of Flight Timbers Ltd.
Shares soaring for Canadian forest firms
Shares of several of Canada's largest lumber exporters have skyrocketed in the past two months as new building codes in China allowing wood in construction have cracked open a previously inaccessible market for Canada's long-suffering forestry industry.
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...and one to end the week on...England's rugby woes
The All Blacks were playing England, and after the half-time whistle blew they found themselves ahead 50-0, Dan Carter getting eight tries. And on that note, have a great weekend. Cheers. We welcome comments and contributions on Friday Offcuts. For details on advertising for positions within the forest products industry or for products and services, either within the weekly newsletter or on this web page, please contact us.
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