CREDIT BALANCE IN TIMBER TRADE WITH AUSTRALIA

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23083, 22 October 1949, Page 6

CREDIT BALANCE IN TIMBER TRADE WITH AUSTRALIA

(P a..) WELLINGTON. Oct. 21. The policy of restraining exports of native timbers dated back to just after the First World War, said the Minister of Forests, Mr. C. F. Skinner, last night in commenting on what he termed misunderstandings about the timber trade with Australia.

Mr, Skinner said that almost 8.000,000 board feet of native timber were exported last year and this year the figure might reach the 7,000.000 mark, but this represented only about 2J per cent, of the current production of native timber, which was not more than a token shipment.

Mr. Skinner said that New Zealand was ' under an obligation to send to Australia, if practicable, up to 1,000.000 board feet of silver beech and up to 12,000,000 board feet annually of indigenous softwoods. Because of shipping difficulties New Zealand had been unable to meet these commitments, except in silver beech, but in exchange for token shipments actually made to Australia we had received, in most years, two to three times as much in Australian hardwoods.

Mr. Skinner said that if New Zealand lost access to these hardwoods the diversion of labour and resources to providing substitutes would decrease the output of building timbers by at least 20,000.000 board feet, which was three times the quantity now being exported to Australia.