Wood Processing
New Zealand Forestry Markets as at 2000
TRADE CONSIDERATIONS
New Zealand's forestry sector is increasingly reliant on forest product exports due to:
- a comparatively small and almost static domestic demand;
- an expanding wood resource;
- a growing processing industry.
The world demand
for forest products is rapidly increasing, and contested by an increasing number of
traditional and non-traditional suppliers. The appearance of wood product substitutes
further underlines the necessity of a globally competitive New Zealand industry.
New Zealand's shipping and transport industry has undergone vast cost improvements over the past ten years. There is little restriction now to facilitate free trade in and out of New Zealand.
New Zealand also plays an active part in freeing up international trade. At the November 1997 APEC summit (Asian Pacific Economic Co-operation) in Vancouver it supported an agreement to fast-track the removal of import tariffs in the forestry and fisheries industries. While tariffs for forest products currently vary between zero and 11.5 percent, the agreement aims to have them all removed by 2004, well ahead of the 2010 deadline suggested in the GATT Uruguay round.
New Zealand is Increasingly Reliant on Exports
CONSUMPTION
With a population of almost 3.6 million and a comparatively small manufacturing base, the size of the domestic market is restricted. The construction industry is the primary user of wood products. Annual housing starts for new residential dwellings have over the past five years fluctuated between 18,000 and 23,000, with a value of 2 to 3 billion NZ dollars.
Approximate consumption figures of forest products over the past three years for individual product groups were:
| Sawn Lumber (cubic metres) |
Plywood (cubic metres) |
Reconstituted Panels (cubic metres) |
Newsprint (cubic metres) |
Paper and Paperboard (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000,000 | 40,000 | 340,000 | 110,000 | 600,000 |
EXPORTS
New Zealand's forest product exports have, over the past ten years ,grown by an average 14 percent, although growth in the past two years has been negative. The total value of forestry products exported in the year to March 1997 was $2.4 billion - around 12 percent of total product exports. Exports are currently confined to a narrow product and market mix. Three markets - Japan, Australia and Korea - purchased three-quarters of the New Zealand Export products. In 1996 Japan overtook Australia as New Zealand's primary market.
Individual product groups however vary in 1996/97 considerably in terms of contribution and market destinations:
- Sawlogs and peeler exports and to a much lesser degree pulpwood and wood chips made up over one quarter of the total export value. Major markets in 1996/97 were Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China and the Philippines.
- Sawn Timber contributed nearly 15 percent of export value with its main destinations being Australia, Japan, United States, Taiwan and Korea.
- Pulp and Paper also recorded a share of over one-quarter of the total export value. Major pulp markets were Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Korea and Taiwan; major paper markets were Australia, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
- Plywood and reconstituted panels contributed nearly 15 percent to the total export value, with Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan by far the largest buyers of NZ product.
- Just over 10 percent of export value comprises a range of forest products not captured in the above groups with the majority exported to Australia, followed by Japan and the United States.
IMPORTS
The average growth of forest products imported into New Zealand over the past ten years was around 14 percent. Imports encompass a small range of forest products, many not manufactured in New Zealand. The value of forest products imports in 1996/97 averaged around NZ$800 million, or 3.5 percent of all merchandise imports into this country. Australia, United States, Germany, Indonesia, Canada and Finland are the key countries, which supplied two thirds of the imported goods (on a value basis).
Due to the isolation of New Zealand in the Southern Ocean, the lack of pests and diseases here has resulted in strict phytosanitary regulations. All wood and wood products entering New Zealand are inspected before a clearance certificate is issued. Imports must be free of bark and insects, and of any visible sign of damage by insects or attack by wood fungi.
Key product groups contributing to the total value of imports are:
- other paper and paperboard, including specialty papers with over 75 percent of the total import value;
- wooden furniture and furniture parts at around 8 percent of the total import value;
- sawn timber and sleepers (mainly softwoods) with a 4 - 5 percent share of import value.
Contact for Enquiries
Senior Analyst
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 1340
Rotorua
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 7 921 3403
Fax: +64 7 921 3402
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