Farm Forestry New ZealandIdentifying processing opportunities for key specialty tree species – resource analysis
By Peter Hall, Rosie Sargent and Steve Riley, May 2019.
Download SWP-T068 (pdf)
Executive summary
This report covers the current and projected supply of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), Cypresses and Eucalyptus nitens (Deane & Maiden) Maiden across all the major wood supply regions of New Zealand. Gathering this data is an important preparatory step prior to running the WoodScape model, as the economics of different processing options are very dependent on the location, and long term stability, of the wood supply. This will help to highlight areas where a lack of suitable wood supply is the major barrier to profitability.
The supply projects in this report are based off the Ministry of Primary Industries National Exotic forest description and associated yield tables.
For most species and regions there are highly variable volumes of supply over time, which makes developing processing of, and markets for, the wood products from these species challenging.
Estimates of area and timing of new plantings to stabilise these supplies have been made. In some cases this is very difficult to achieve and would take many decades for the new plantings to mature.
Further, for some species and regions there are issues which limit the likelihood of expanded plantings. For example;
- Douglas-fir - North Island – major growers have concerns over the impact of Swiss Needle Cast on crop productivity and are likely to convert Douglas-fir stands to Pinus radiata as they are more confident in the returns from that approach
- Douglas-fir - South Island – there are major barriers to expanded Douglas for, or even restocking of Douglas for stands due to concerns over the spread of wildings onto neighbouring land.
- Cypress species – some regions with large areas of Cypress plantings have issues with crop and log quality, these are sufficient to suggest that it is a barrier to replanting or expansion of the area in cypresses.
For Eucalyptus nitens there are opportunities to expand the estate in Otago Southland and also in the CNI (with careful management). These regions have a history of these plantings, and established processing and markets.
Across the country niche opportunities exist for small-scale processing of the three species addressed.
The logs and product prices and the financial viability of these opportunities will be addressed in a separate report.
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