Western Australia's largest timber plantation owner, investment group New Forests, has expanded its holdings by purchasing 12,000 hectares of bluegums from Bunbury Fibre Plantations, a subsidiary of Japan's Mitsui & Co.
Six years on from the collapse of the big managed investment scheme promoters, stable new ownership and a low currency are boosting the state's woodchip industry, despite the number of plantation hectares remaining almost unchanged.
New woodchip player Southern Pacific Fibre has struck a marketing and sales deal with Australia's largest producer and exporter of high-quality hardwood chips, Australian Bluegum Plantations, despite a weak woodchip market.
Increasing demand for hardwood plantation products has boosted the outlook for the much-maligned industry in Western Australia, but whether companies can capitalise on new growth will depend on how much suitable land they can access.
