1 Introduction
This report provides new wood availability forecasts for the Nelson and Marlborough region. It also provides information on the planted production forest estate and processing industries in the region. The report comments on the wood availability forecasts and on the opportunities and constraints facing the region’s forest industry.
The information in this report is intended to help planners, the forestry industry and the wider public in resource planning, assessing wood processing opportunities and identifying infrastructure issues.
References to the “Nelson region” include the land area of Tasman District and Nelson City. The “Marlborough region” includes the land area of Marlborough and Kaikoura Districts.
2 Overview
The Nelson/Marlborough region has a mature forest industry with a well-managed forest estate. The region also has a good mix of wood processing plants including sawmills, a laminated veneer lumber (LVL) plant, a world-scale medium density fibreboard (MDF) plant, and the largest post and pole processing plant in New Zealand.
Wood availability forecasts indicate that over the next 10 years the harvest in Marlborough has the potential to increase from the 2005 total of just over 646 000 cubic metres to between 900 000 and one million cubic metres. The size of the increase depends on the harvesting decisions of the many small-scale1 forest growers.
For Nelson, the availability forecasts indicate little change over the next 10 years, with harvest levels in the range of 1.3 to 1.4 million cubic metres. In this region, yearly fluctuations in harvest mainly reflect the intentions of the large-scale forest growers. The wood availability from the small forests is fairly constant.
After 2015, the combined Nelson/Marlborough harvest has the potential to increase from the current level of 2.3 million cubic metres (2005) to around 3.2 to 3.5 million cubic metres. Most of the increase in wood availability in this period is from the small-scale forest growers. The actual timing of harvesting from these forests will depend on market conditions and the collective decisions of the more than 700 small-scale owners.
One scenario is that after 2015 the harvesting of these small-scale forests will increase the region’s harvest volume to 3.2 to 3.5 million cubic metres as the forests planted during the 1990s start to be harvested. During the mid-1990s significant areas of forests were planted over a short period of time. For logistical and marketing reasons these forests are likely to be harvested over a 10 to 15 year period. Wood availability would then be expected to decrease.
The increase in wood availability over the next 10 years presents an opportunity for the industry to expand. However, it is important to recognise that some existing processing plants have capacity to increase production (for example, by employing an extra shift). This increase is estimated to be in the order of 500 000 cubic metres above the actual 2005 processing level.
An increase in the level of processing in the region could also come from processing a proportion of the one million cubic metres of logs currently exported, and from processing the potential million cubic metre increase in wood availability.
The Marlborough Forest Industry Association has been proactive in lifting the profile of the industry and providing the necessary link with local authorities in Marlborough. There is no collective body that represents the forest growing and wood processing industries in Nelson. A more coordinated approach from the Nelson forest industry would be helpful in raising the forest industry profile and in representing the forest industry to local government.
The future will present some ongoing challenges for the industry. New processing opportunities will proceed only if the regulatory environment is enabling, and if the range of processed products can successfully compete on price and quality in international markets. The forest industry needs strong, positive leadership and innovative people who are prepared to make bold investment decisions.
The future ownership of the Weyerhaeuser Joint Venture forests and sawmill and
the potential sale of Nelson’s Carter Holt Harvey forests are creating
short-term uncertainty in the region’s forest industry. It is possible
that the industry leadership shown by the present owners of the larger forests
may diminish after these sales, depending on the objectives of the new owners.
However, change within the industry could also result in some positive
outcomes, with new ideas and links into processing and export opportunities.
The past development of the forest industry in Nelson and Marlborough provides
a robust platform for the
sector’s future.
Figure 2.1: Nelson/Marlborough Forest Ownership
Table 2.1: Nelson/Marlborough production data, 2005
| Nelson | Marlborough | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stocked forest area as at 1 April 2005 (hectares) | 99 786 | 74 101 | 173 887 |
| Harvest – estimated roundwood removals, year ending December 20051 (cubic metres) | 1 662 000 | 646 000 | 2 308 000 |
| Area weighted average age of forest as at 1 April 2005 (years) | 15.19 | 14.41 | 14.85 |
| Sawn timber production, year ending December 2005 (cubic metres) | 334 500 | 83 500 | 418 000 |
| Estimated log input into sawmills, year ending December 2005 (cubic metres) | 612 000 | 153 000 | 765 000 |
| Export logs by port, year ending December 2005 (cubic metres) | 656 500 | 356 300 | 1 012 800 |
| Export sawn timber by port, year ending December 2005 (cubic metres) | 136 900 | - | 136 900 |
| Direct employment (forestry and first stage processing) (February 2005) | 1 604 | 313 | 1 917 |
Source
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Note
1 Estimated roundwood removals are derived from a number of sources. The split
between Nelson and Marlborough is based on regionally collected data.
1 For the purposes of this report, small-scale forest owners are those with less than 1000 hectares, and large-scale forest owners are those with 1000 hectares or more.
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
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