The Government aims to have West Coast plantation forests breaking even within five years, Forestry Minister David Carter says.Releasing the future strategy for the Crown-owned forests, he said today the focus would be on jobs and profit and there would n
The Government aims to have West Coast plantation forests breaking even within five years, Forestry Minister David Carter says.
Releasing the future strategy for the Crown-owned forests, he said today the focus would be on jobs and profit and there would need to be some changes to processing.
"Currently, 65 percent of logs from West Coast forests leave the area unprocessed," he said.
"The strategy aims to improve that situation so that jobs and profit can be retained."
Mr Carter said the strategy included improving financial returns through increased on-coast sales of unpruned logs, rationalisation of the estate to remove the most remote and least productive areas, and investigating the outright sale of those forests in conjunction with landowner Ngai Tahu, which had first right of refusal.
"This may well mean some rationalisation of sawmilling occurs, but the overall aim is to make West Coast forestry economically sustainable, preserving livelihoods in the long term," he said.
The strategy has been released following a full review of the forests and surrounding industry, undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Crown Forestry unit.
This followed the transfer of the former Timberlands West Coast forests to the Crown in January last year, after the State-owned enterprise's board advised the previous government it could no longer operate profitably.
"This strategy marks a way forward for an industry that suffered years of broken promises and neglect under the previous Labour government," he said.
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