Carter Holt Harvey, which reportedly refinanced $1.45 billion of debt last year, sold forestry assets near Tokoroa for some $US38.6 million.

New Zealand forestry export earnings fell in the latest quarter because of oversupply of logs in China and currency pressures, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Total sheep numbers down as hard winter decreases lambing numbers.

Christchurch City Council is quitting its forestry investments.

Free trade negotiations and a continued commitment to the emissions trading scheme are important to support further forestry sector growth, Prime Minister John Key said.

Forestry, New Zealand’s third largest export industry, brought in an estimated $3.7 billion of export earnings export in the year to June and is forecast to grow to an annual $6.2b by 2014.