N.Z. EXPORTS OF FOREST PRODUCTS A RECORD

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31754, 10 August 1968, Page 40

N.Z. EXPORTS OF FOREST PRODUCTS A RECORD

(New Zealand press Association) WELLINGTON, August 9. Forest products exports rose in value to a record $28.7m in the 1967 calendar year, compared with $25.1m in 1966, the Director-General of Forests (Mr A. L. Poole) said in his annual report to Parliament today.

Exports of forest products to Australia increased in value from $17.8m in 1965 to $19.7m last year, although the only item in which quantity increased greatly was wood pulp.

New Zealand’s exports to Japan last year were valued at $7.3m, or 25 per cent of the total value of exports of forest products. “Japanese requirements are expected to increase over the next 20 years,” said the report.

New Zealand is one of several countries supplying timber to Japan where softwood log imports are reported to have risen from 200 m cu. ft in 1960 to 1000 m cu. ft in 1967, in support of rapidly-growing pulp, paper and sawn timber industries. “New Zealand’s contribution this year was the biggest since it entered the trade bn an appreciable scale in 1959,” said the report. “It comprised 26m cu. ft of logs and for the first time a significant quantity (6.6 m board feet) of sawn timber.” GAIN OFFSET Wood pulp exports to Australia rose from 50,832 tons in 1965 to 64,131 tons in 1967, but this gain was offset by a drop in f.o.b. value from §87.5 to $B2 a ton. Newsprint exports to Australia remained at the 1965 level of about 100,000 tons. Giving over-all production figures for the year ended March 31, 1968, the report said that total wood production from exotic and indigenous forests reached 221.1 m

cu. ft—an increase of 9.5 m cu. ft or 4.5 per cent over last year—mainly because of a much greater production of logs for export. Production of pulp logs rose 10 per cent to 44.5 m cu. ft.

The report said the drop in demand after reduced building activity—which was already apparent in 1966-67 became more marked in the second half of 1967 and was reflected in a sharp fall in sawn timber production from 748 m board feet in 1966-67 to 675 m board feet this year. “A slight improvement toward the end of the year was helped by new export orders.” MORE PAPER

Production of paper and paperboard for the March 31 year was 383,700 tons—an increase on the previous year of 29,000 tons, or 8 per cent. Newsprint production, which fell last year, rose again to the level reached in 1966.

Timber imports into New Zealand stood at $11.9m for the 1967 calendar year—the

lowest since 1950 and 22 per cent lower than the 1966 figure of $15.3m. Imports of all major items dropped.