RECORD TIMBER PRODUCTION

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27688, 18 June 1955, Page 8

RECORD TIMBER PRODUCTION

INDIGENOUS TOTAL EXCEEDS EXOTIC MINISTER REFERS TO SHORTAGES (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 17. A record timber production of 616,000,000 board feet for the Dominion for the year ending March 31 was announced by the Minister of Forests (Mr S. W. Smith) today. North Island production was up to 446,000,00*3, and that of the South Island to 170,000,000 board feet. The new figure for the Dominion is an. increase of 44,000.000 feet over the previous year. “Contrary to popular opinion, indigenous timber production is still being maintained at a high level, and is still in excess of exotic timber," said Mr Smith. “The relative production figures for the two classes are: indigenous 324,000,000 feet, and exotic 292,000,000 feet.”

There should be no such thing as a timber shortage today, but he had been forced to the conclusion that shortages arose, not from a lack of timber, but from the lack of trust and confidence between various sections of the timber-producing and consuming industries. said the Minister. The timber industry blamed lending authorities and builders for their unwillingness to accept exotic timbers for a wider field of use. and the lending authorities and builders objected that the timber industry was unable or unwilling to provide and maintain a grade of timber worthy of the use in question. He had. however, been perturbed at the conservatism shown by some authorities, which, he felt, displayed unreasonableness. Builders complained that they could not obtain sufficient flooring, but investigations proved that the problem was not a shortage of timber so much as a reluctance on the part of the lending and building authorities to depart from their specifications which permitted the use of only four-inch flooring. He considered that if they were prepared to accept all widths from three inches *to six inches, which is the standard practice in most parts of the world, their houses would not suffer, but the supply difficulty would disappear. Other instances of a similar nature could be quoted, said Mr Smith.