The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has sold 2.5% of Kaingaroa Timberlands to six central North Island iwi, giving the underlying landowners access to some of the profits generated from the nation's biggest forestry business. Source: The National Business Review (NZ)

Southern Cross Forest Products, a sawmill company in New Zealand with about 400 employees and about NZ$100 million in annual sales was placed in receivership. Sources: Stuff NZ, Fairfax NZ News, TVNZ

Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH) at Heyfield, Victoria is putting the finishing touches on its latest expansion, which experts tip will provide a much bigger range of building products for architects and designers. Source: The Gippsland Times

February and March were dark months for Australian manufacturing and aviation workers. Unfortunately, they are not the only sectors tipped to feel the pain of restructuring. Sources: Business Spectator, The Age

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's declaration that too many of the country's forests are "locked up" has met a furious response from the Tasmanian state government and environmentalists. Sources: The Australian, ABC News

A subsidiary of IKEA that supplies timber to the furniture maker has been stripped of its Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accreditation following an audit. Source: Supply Management

While forest coverage has increased across the nation, China still lags behind in woodland coverage in comparison with the global average according to the State Forestry Administration (SFA). Source: Global Times

China imported logs and lumber for a record US$9 billion in 2013, with North America, Russia and New Zealand being the major suppliers reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Sources: Farming UK, Wood Resource Quarterly