The failure of managed investment schemes, along with the global financial crisis and a housing industry downturn, have led to big falls in Australia`s forestry products exports.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics has confirmed a $2.3 billion decline in exports was driven by a collapse in demand for woodchips. ABARE deputy executive Paul Morris says woodchips normally account for 40 per cent of our forestry exports. "We`ve seen forest exports down for Australia as a whole by about 5 per cent," he says.
"We`ve seen less wood coming out of the forests, down about 10 or 11 per cent, and we`ve seen quite a large decline, about a 30 per cent reduction, in plantation establishment for Australia as a whole."
Source: http://www.abc.net.au |
