Foresty ‘may need foreign investment’

Press, 28 March 1979, Page 26

Foresty ‘may need foreign investment’

PA Wellington Foreign investment may be needed to help develop New Zealand’s enormous potential as a forestry country, particularly in view of the vast amount of replanting being done each year. Speaking in Wellington, the chief executive of N.Z. Forest Products (Mr D O. Walker) made it clear that the nation’s forestry base was growing very quickly.

"In a few years we will be ready for a major expansion requiring capital. It will not be static, but real growth,” he said. Every year 50,000 ha of new land were sown in forestry, not counting land reafforested after trees had been felled. This timber would become available for cutting in the late 1980 s. “Land is available for forestry. It does not involve cutting down native forests — there is

plenty of land for new forests without touching existing areas,” he said. By the late 1980 s there would be enough new forests coming into production to warrant the building of a new Kinleith plant every two years.

“Decisions have to be made as to whether we should export all this timber production as logs, plywood or paper.” Commenting on the company’s rising share price, Mr Walker said that investors obviously recognised that the company was passing through a period of consolidation.

The company was now producing large quantities of Kraft paper (430,000 tonnes a year). It was also producing 120,000 tonnes of wood pulp and 90,000 tonnes of paper each year for export as well as helping to supply the local market.

Mr Walker said that forestry was a renewable

resource, and a user of 1 o w-production land. Future decisions would require the Government to decide the amount of processing the industry required.

At present, ' Forest Products was supplying ijrarkets from the east side of Africa to the west side of North America, and Europe (for plywood), and he was aware that other companies had the same aims of exporting timber-based products. Mr Walker emphasised that, in view of the increasing supplies of timber that would come available for processing, plans must be made to cope with this production, even through the use of foreign investment.