Timber exports stall

Press, 23 February 1977, Page 20

Timber exports stall

Parliamentary reporter

Mr R. E. Parrott, of the commercial division of the New Zealand Forest Service, has left to consult a committee of Japanese commercial interests engaged in the construction industry about the barriers impeding the export and end-use of New Zealand sawn timber to Japan, in particular the 10 per cent duty and structural ring-count specifications. The Japanese business group, headed by Mr Yoshio Tsuji, president of NisshoIwai Company, Ltd, agreed at the last October meeting of the Japan/New Zealand businessmen’s conference to study all aspects of the New Zealand case and it will be Mr Parrott’s primary objective to convince them on technical grounds that the

New Zealand timber, appropriately graded, is a fully competitive building timber.

New Zealand sawmillers have the ability to grade radiata pine for building end uses in Japan. However, to be competitive against supply from other countries and” in particular from North America, it is necessary to eliminate the present 10 per cent duty disadvantage. Radiata pine enters Japan duty free only if thicker than 160 mm, and while this has led to a large volume of trade when market conditions in Japan are buoyant, it has also resulted in fluctuations in market demand under depressed conditions. It has not provided to the full extent the added product value which is so desirable

to boost New Zealand’s export earnings. The imposition of a ring width factor in grading the timber for building use is an added barrier to New Zealand radiata pine, and this has produced a tendency to use radiata pine re-sawn from logs or large squares as packaging timber only. While this method of grading is all right for some timber, it is a completely unsatisfactory method for grading radiata pine, as New Zealand usage so clearly demonstrates.

Jointly financed by Government and industry, Mr Parrott’s visit will also bring him to consultations with Japanese officials and with Japanese technical experts in both public and private sectors.