The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries has published its report Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (March 2019). Within the report, it states that forestry revenue is forecast to reach NZ$6.8 billion for the year ending June 2019, an increase of 7.0% from 2018, based on strong growth in log export volumes. Source: Timberbiz
According to the report much of this growth has come from increased Chinese demand for New Zealand logs, supporting both robust prices and near-record export volumes. Demand is expected to remain steady over the next year, with an expected increase in Chinese residential construction despite a weakening Chinese economy.
Sawn timber exports have increased since 2014, driven by a recovery in the US market and ongoing growth in markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
However, a release issued by the New Zealand First Party by Spokesperson for Primary Industry Mark Patterson states that the statistics released on 26 April shows that the recent rise in exports has been driven by dairy thanks to the success of milk powder. Dairy showed an increase which is up NZ$226 million on last year. In contrast, the value of total goods imports in March 2019 fell NZ$174 million (3.5%) to NZ$4.8 billion in March 2019.
