It’s been almost 2 years since I last reviewed Bunnings timber prices.
https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2016/07/01/bunnings-timber-price-lists/
Bunnings timber prices (per linear metre) are readily available on their web page.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/our-range/building-hardware/timber/dressed-timber/hardwood
From these I have created the following chart showing the current retail price for Tasmanian Oak Select Grade Dressed All Round (DAR), together with two previous price points.
Prices are shown per linear and cubic metre.
The retail price for tas oak hasn’t increased that much over the last 2 years. This is curious given there is supposed to be a timber shortage due to the building boom. Obviously the building boom is doing nothing for the fortunes of public native forestry.
Current retail prices range from $5,850 to $8,900 per cubic metre.
These prices do not reflect the actual cost of growing the wood and managing our public native forests as this recent article in The Guardian newspaper makes perfectly clear:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/29/tasmanian-forest-agreement-delivers-13bn-losses-in-giant-on-taxpayers
Almost all Tasmanian oak comes from the harvesting of Tasmanian public native forests.
Bringing Tas oak to market comes at the expense of Tasmanian schools and hospitals, roads and public housing; never mind the 35 years of bitter community conflict.
Australia will never have a real forest industry whilst the market continues to support uneconomical public native forestry.
So where does that leave Bunnings?
Bunnings seems to be a pretty good company and corporate citizen. They have some good policies:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/about-us/our-actions/bunnings-and-timber
Our actions
We pursue sustainability within our operations by striving to make them socially responsible, environmentally aware and economically viable.
Bunnings has a great Responsible Timber Sourcing Policy and is obviously proactive in helping protect the world’s forests:
We are confident that more than 99 per cent of timber products are confirmed as originating from low-risk sources including plantation, verified legal, or certified responsibly sourced forests. Within that, more than 85 per cent of our total timber products are sourced from independently certified forests or sourced with demonstrated progress towards achieving independent certification, such as that provided by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
We continue to seek advice from Greenpeace and WWF on our procurement and we remain grateful for their ongoing support.
We are proud that our long term efforts and commitment to timber procurement has provided customers and team members with the knowledge that our timber is responsibly sourced.
Bunnings is Australia’s leading retailer of Tasmanian oak timber, legally sourced from public native forests in Tasmania, and certified under the Australian Forestry Standard/PEFC, but not under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
I think it is time for Bunnings to live up to its policies and stop plundering Tasmania’s forests and Tasmanian taxpayers.
It is time for Bunnings to stop selling Tasmanian oak.
Public native forestry in Tasmania is not profitable or sustainable. Never has been and never will be.
Bunnings in New Zealand does not sell any dressed hardwood timber at all. None.
I can’t see why Bunnings Australia can’t do the same.
Come on Bunnings!
Live up to your policies!
New Zealand Cypress Market Report
And one VERY switched on sawmiller!!
This has little to do with farm grown Tasmanian blackwood, but in terms of where I wish the forest industry in Tasmania was right now, this is a fantastic example. In fact I would rate this little piece as one of the best things I’ve read in my 40 year career as a forester:
http://www.nzffa.org.nz/specialty-timber-market/headlines/member-profile—macdirect/
It’s a shame it’s hidden away in a corner of the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association (NZFFA) website so that very few people will ever read it.
I suspect Murray Grant, Director/Owner of MacDirect Ltd., didn’t set out to write a cypress market report. But that is exactly what this is. This “member profile” is jam packed with lots of useful information for existing and potential cypress growers.
Most Tasmanians would only know macrocarpa cypress as large scraggly farm windbreak trees. Only a handful of Tasmanians know that this tree is fast growing and produces a high value, high quality, durable timber. New Zealand farmers have been growing it in commercial plantations for 40 years. There are only a handful of small cypress plantations in Tasmania.
MacDirect Ltd is NZ’s number 1 Building Grade Macrocarpa supplier.
https://www.macdirect.co.nz/
To me the thing that makes Murray Grant unique is that he’s not just thinking about how to improve his sawmills profitability; he’s not just thinking about the logs that will be coming into his sawmill tomorrow or next week.
He’s thinking about the logs that will be harvested in 10, 20 and 30 years time!!
He’s thinking about the trees that need to be planted tomorrow!!
The major priority of EVERY sawmiller is NOT to produce profitable sawn timber! That’s the easy part of the business!!
Given that timber takes 30+ years to grow, the major priority of every sawmiller is to ensure that farmers are growing more (profitable) trees for wood production to meet market demand.
Sawing up logs is the easy part!!!
And Murray Grant knows this when he says:
We would love to hear from any farm foresters who are keen to work closely with us to grow plantations into the future, get our perspective on silviculture for the marketplace and/or look at log price and harvesting.
Murray Grant knows the critical part that sawmillers (and the market generally) play in ensuring their own future.
Murray Grant is a hero!
He needs a medal!!
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Posted in Commentary, New Zealand, Uncategorized
Tagged MacDirect Ltd