Forestry’s Boom Creates Increased Finance Opportunies

Forest Industry Engineering Association
Media Release
20 January 2012

For Immediate Release

Forestry’s Boom Creates Increased Finance Industry Opportunities

Forestry’s export performance since June 2009 has bucked all of the economic trends of most other sectors in NZ. It’s the opposite of a ‘perfect storm’. Increasingly the finance industry is catching on to the huge potential which exists for continued growth in production of a range of forest products.

“In the 80s and 90s a forest planting boom occurred and was made up of mainly small woodlot owners. The logs from the small woodlots are set to be harvested in the near future. For the finance industry, now is the time to start building relationships with the new key players coming into the market,” says John Stulen, Event Manager of the Future Forestry Finance Conference Series.

With housing starts continuing to underwhelm, it’s been the culmination of years of hard work in export markets that has seen success shine on producers along the entire wood supply chain with the exception of solid timber.

The forestry sector has boomed with log production for export to China. Other more mature markets such as Japan and Korea are now broadening the range of forest products they import from New Zealand.

Mr Stulen says, “Few companies who work in the forestry sector make much noise about their success – but more and more new suppliers to the industry are realising the true value of becoming connected to the sector.”

Forestry is to New Zealand what Mining is to Australia. By 2020 the growth of forestry export markets is forecast to be into double digits. From 2020 to 2030 forestry production will expand from approximately 25 million m3 to 35 million m3.

Finance company executives and those involved in administering trusts and other forestry businesses should be at the Future Forestry Finance event to learn more about forestry’s production as well as to network with key industry individuals.

Accordingly this years’ Future Forestry Finance Conference running on 7th and 8th March at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Auckland is going to be popular with key industry suppliers and service providers especially those wanting to gain new information on the forest industry’s direction and challenges for growth in the coming quarters, years and decades.

The FIEA conference will be held on 7-8 March at the Crowne Plaza in Auckland and 13-14 March at the Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach. For full programme information see www.forestryfinanceevents.com

--ENDS—

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