Will Australia Compete with New Zealand for Chinese Timber Sales?

The timber sales industry in Australia is healthy. Timber exports not only help the timber industry, they help our economy as a whole. While they are often overshadowed by the mining industry, timber exports to China provide the timber industry with extra income that keeps them healthy.

Recently, New Zealand announced plans to upgrade the Free Trade Agreement with China. This is tipped to help them export more timber to China and add more jobs to their timber industry. The relationship between our timber industry and those of NZ is complicated. The short version is that we trade with both NZ and China. NZ trades with us and with China.

Where We See the Timber Sales Business with China and NZ Going

China has a lot of people and a lot of demand for timber. However, environmental programs such as the Natural Forest Protection Program are decreasing domestic timber production in China. This forces them to import even more timber, especially sawn logs.

Traditionally, China has made it difficult for exporters to compete with their domestic product. However, they have recently instituted logging bans in three key provinces. The logging bans are estimated to lower domestic logging by 50 million m3 per year. That is a lot of timber.

China has approximately 198 hectares of natural forests, with 127 million of those hectares now falling under the administration of reservations. The result is that China keeps decreasing their domestic production even as demand rises. With many countries across the globe decreasing or even outlawing exports, Australia and NZ tend to gain from China’s increased demand.

At Narangba Timbers, We’ve Got You Covered

We think this is going to be good for Australia. It will increase our exports, but not at a rate we can’t handle as long as we use sustainable techniques. We see prices rising slightly, but then again, prices always rise in any segment of the economy.

At Narangba Timbers, we intend to continue conducting ethical and sustainable timber sales in Queensland and New South Wales while providing the same low prices you have gotten to know us for having. To learn more, call us today on 1300 477 024.