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Australian inquiry highlights value of timber
23/11/2011
Australia is taking steps to raise its timber production capabilities, after a recent inquiry highlighted the growing value and role that timber will have in the nation's future.
An investigation by the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry found that Australia had a trade deficit in wood products totalling $1.9 billion in 2010, and exported some $2 million worth of timber products.
The committee's chairman, Labor MP Dick Adams, said that the country needed to start growing more and exporting less, particularly as timber is likely to be needed more and more as the population of the country continues to grow.
"The policy settings of how we do that need to be set by federal and state governments," Adams explained. "If we don't grow [trees], we will be importing timber from countries that don't have the same environmental standards that we do."
He said that the nation's demand for the commodity had the potential to have a staggering effect on the forestry industry, particularly as a result of the demand from the construction industry. Adams stated that for this to happen, timber and wood products needed to be strongly marketed as alternatives to more energy-intensive materials.
An investigation by the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry found that Australia had a trade deficit in wood products totalling $1.9 billion in 2010, and exported some $2 million worth of timber products.
The committee's chairman, Labor MP Dick Adams, said that the country needed to start growing more and exporting less, particularly as timber is likely to be needed more and more as the population of the country continues to grow.
"The policy settings of how we do that need to be set by federal and state governments," Adams explained. "If we don't grow [trees], we will be importing timber from countries that don't have the same environmental standards that we do."
He said that the nation's demand for the commodity had the potential to have a staggering effect on the forestry industry, particularly as a result of the demand from the construction industry. Adams stated that for this to happen, timber and wood products needed to be strongly marketed as alternatives to more energy-intensive materials.
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