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| Forest protest blow to sales |
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2005/8/5
PRESSURE on international paper makers to stop buying Tasmanian woodchips from native forests was working, Forestry Tasmania boss Evan Rolley said yesterday.
Returning recently from a damage-control mission to Japan, Korea and China, Mr Rolley said he was "surprised at the level of misinformation about Tasmanian forestry that has penetrated the international marketplace".
"Tasmania has lost market volume due to environmental action," he said.
But Wilderness Society campaigner Vica Bayley said Forestry Tasmania should listen to what international customers wanted rather than continue to promote sales of Tasmanian native forest woodchips.
The visit followed a policy rethink by the Nippon Paper Group -- which imports about 1.6 million tonnes of woodchips from Tasmania a year -- as the company reconsidered its philosophy on buying woodchips.
Forest giant Mitsubishi Paper Mills also has indicated it will stop buying Tasmanian woodchips.
Tasmania had lost up to 400,000 tonnes of woodchip contracts "in the period up until now", Mr Rolley said.
But he conceded other factors, such as the value of the Australian dollar and emerging markets in Chile, South Africa and southern states of the US, were also responsible for the market loss.
Mr Bayley said the effectiveness of the campaign to end native forest woodchip sales could be a win-win situation for forestry and conservation.
He said Forestry Tasmania should be listening to what the market wanted rather than continuing to promote practices that were considered unethical.
"These are modern business people who are looking at what is best for their business," Mr Bayley said.
"They are not going to respond emotionally, they are going to exercise good judgment."
He criticised Premier Paul Lennon and Mr Rolley for not responding to community expectations about getting out of native-growth logging.
"These companies are doing what Mr Rolley and Mr Lennon won't do, which is moving the forestry industry into the 21st century," Mr Bayley said.
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| Source:www.wood365.com |
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