Canterbury Timber Surplus

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30176, 6 July 1963, Page 6

Canterbury Timber Surplus

ALTHOUGH Canterbury was at present in the “dangerous” situation of badly under-cutting its exotic forest timber resources and was building up reserves for the future, its existing forest area was only just adequate to meet all the future demands as they were at present foreseen, the director of forest management in the Forest Service (Mr A. P. Thomson) said in a paper he delivered recently. Demands on Canterbury’s exotic forests today were only 6.3 million cubic feet, but by the year 2000, would rise to 22.4 million cubic feet. However, the estimates for the future took into account hypothetical timber exports from 1970 onwards and were based on sawlog, not pulpwood size timber. Also, the estimated yields were based on clear felling and did not take into account possible yields from thinnings, said Mr Thomson. The present surplus of 9 million feet would dwindle, but would remain considerable during the 1960 s and the 19705, It appeared the forest areas would remain adequate until the 19905, but in the last decade of the century Mr Thomson said there certainly would be a deficit. He suggested this deficit could be partially overcome by refraining from exporting timber. Building up reserves of exotic forest was a dangerous situation, particularly in Canterbury, where the risk of wind-throw was always present The yield from the present areas in Canterbury was 16 million cubic feet and the 6.6 million cubic feet being used was less than half that available. In all, Canterbury has 129,000 acres of exotic forests, which was a considerably greater resource than had previously been thought. There was a greater planted area in Canterbury than in Nelson, which had 73.000 acres. Although Canterbury was ahead of the rest of New Zealand in the use of its exotic timbers in 1640 and

even more so by 1950, the situation was completely reversed by 1960. During the 1950 s Canterbury’s use of indigenous timber went up, but ute of exotics remained static. “Canterbury has really not attempted to exploit and use its exotic resources,” Mr Thomson said. It surprised him that Canterbury was the first New Zealand province to cut radiata pine into sawn timber and yet it was the last to use it properly. Evidence of this was the relatively inefficient structure of the timber industry in Canterbury. Last year’s production of 35 million board feet came from 57 separate mills, with no less than 45 cutting under one million and only one more than two million. Neither Canterbury nor Westland could claim any of New Zealand’s 14 mills which cut more than five million board feet a year. Canterbury had fallen well

behind the North Island in the standards of converting, grading, processing and marketing radiata. What the province needed was one modern, medium to large exotic sawmill with associated kiln drying and treating plants. ‘‘Such a mill could give better service and I believe it would revolutionise the exotic industry here,” Mr Thomson said.

Because of the relatively high quality -of Canterbury radiata, or at least because of its particular suitability for framing timber, he thought the province could develop a valuable export trade in exotics. It would probably not be large, but the possibility was too strong to be ignored. Mr Thomson said that at the present rate of new planting, 2000 acres a year, half of which was done by the State, Canterbury’s forest areas should be almost doubled by the turn of the century.