Western Australia’s woodchip exports continue to grow, with figures revealing an increase of more than 20 per cent in the volume of exports for 2005-06, despite a fall nationally.
Western Australia’s woodchip exports continue to grow, with figures revealing an increase of more than 20 per cent in the volume of exports for 2005-06, despite a fall nationally.
Figures from Albany and Bunbury port authority annual reports reveal that more than two million tonnes of woodchips were exported for 2005-06, up from last year’s 1.67mt.
However, a decline in Tasmania’s native forest harvest for woodchip export has contributed to the national volume of exports falling by 4.2 per cent, according to Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics’ latest Australian forest and wood product statistics.
Albany port’s exports of woodchips more than doubled, from 458,732 tonnes in 2004-05 to almost 1.1mt in 2005-06, as a greater number of eucalypt plantations reach maturity.
Albany Port Authority chief executive officer Brad Williamson told WA Business News the port would be looking to double woodchip exports again in the near future.
“We look to export around 2.5 million tonnes over the next three to four years,” he said. “With the decline in Tasmania’s native forest harvest, we will become the largest woodchip exporter in Australia.”
Mr Williamson said woodchips were reducing seasonal dependence on grain and adding much needed tonnage and shipping movements for all port related activity in the city.
The Albany Chip Terminal, built, owned and operated by Plantation Pulpwood Terminals Pty Ltd, the Timbercorp/Integrated Tree Cropping joint venture, also started operations this year.
Eucalypt woodchips from Timbercorp and ITC plantations in the Great Southern region of WA are exported from the terminal, the second to be built at the port.
The export value from the terminal to Japanese pulp and paper manufacturers is expected to be worth $2 billion over the next decade with the companies having woodchip supply agreements with Marubeni and Sojitz, which, in turn, have supply arrangements with Oji and Nippon.
Meanwhile, woodchip exports from Bunbury Port Authority were down from 1.2mt in 2004-05 to just more than 1mt in 2005-06.
Bunbury Port Authority finance and administration manager John Barratt told WA Business News this was due to a slight fall in woodchip exporter WA Plantation Resources’ mature plantations ready for export during the 2005-06 harvest.
“We are well ahead of expectations for next financial year and expect woodchip exports to be back over 1.2 million tonnes,” he said.
Last month, the Bunbury Port Authority negotiated an agreement with woodchip exporter Hansol PI that allowed both woodchips and coal exports from Collie coal miner, Griffin Coal, to proceed through the port.
The ABARE report revealed that the value of woodchip exports from WA totalled almost $198 million for the 2005-2006 year.
The ABARE report also revealed that, nationally, the value of woodchip exports had fallen by 2.2 per cent due to the significant reduction in native hardwood and softwood woodchip exports.
“This offset strong growth in supply from hardwood plantations and higher woodchip prices,” the report says.
“Despite this, woodchips remain an important source of export revenue in forest products, accounting for 39 per cent of Australia’s forest product exports.
The report says that woodchip export revenue is expected to increase further as many hardwood plantations reach maturity.
