Category Archives: Markets

Tasmanian forest industry – at long last something positive!

Posted on July 16, 2019 | Leave a comment

PFT_forum

It is a rare treat to be able to write something positive about the forest industry in Tasmania.

It may be only a tiny step along the road to commercial and social redemption but I’ll cheer nevertheless!

On the 3rd of July 2019 Private Forests Tasmania (PFT) organised an industry forum to help generate some positive media and momentum, not to mention communication.

A summary of the forum is now posted on the PFT website:

https://www.pft.tas.gov.au/home/home_articles/summary_of_private_forestry_forum2

The summary of the forum is hardly enough to get anyone out of their seats with excitement, but the general tenor of the discussion gives me a small dose of hope for the future.

It seems most/all of the discussion was about commodity wood, with little discussion about high value wood like blackwood or macrocarpa.

If the forest industry wants to have a future it needs to spend at least half of its time and resources working out how to encourage farmers to plant trees. That job IS NOT the responsibility of governments!

History has shown that cutting down forests is easy.

History has also shown that the forest industry has never understood how to get farmers to plant and grow trees (excluding tax-avoiding and investor-robbing scams). In fact history is littered with examples of the opposite trend.

This forum may just become the first small step in the right direction.

It is a shame that the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) wasn’t present. The TFGA would be a useful ally for the forest industry.

https://www.tfga.com.au/farming-enterprises/forestry

It is also a shame that Ministers and politicians can’t keep themselves away from these events.

Most Tasmanians know that as soon as politicians get involved in anything then things very quickly turn bad. The history of the forest industry in Tasmania is one of too much politics.

There have been industry forums like this before but they have been nothing more than soapboxes for politicians. Completely useless and boring to attend.

So full (Ok 8/10) credit to the forum organisers!

Can the formula be developed and extended?

Forums in the north east and the south east of the State?

Perhaps even a forest industry developed Plan that focuses on creating full and positive engagement with the Tasmanian farming community!!

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Posted in Events, Markets, Private Forests Tasmania

Taylor Presentation Series (PS) Tasmanian blackwood

Posted on May 4, 2019 | Leave a comment

Taylor PS12ce

The first of the Taylor Presentation Series Tasmanian blackwood models are starting to appear after they were announced in the latest Wood & Steel magazine back in January.

https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2019/01/29/tasmanian-blackwood-makes-it-to-the-top-of-the-taylor-tree/

They still haven’t appeared on the Taylor website yet:

https://www.taylorguitars.com/

These are top-of-the-line guitars for people with deep pockets and a love of bling.

Here is a PS12ce with V-class bracing currently at Empire Music in Mt Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USA:

http://empiremusiconline.com/products-page/acoustic-guitar/taylor-ps12ce-first-article-v-class-adirondack-blackwood-18131/#!prettyPhoto[58454]/3/

I like the fact they have given the blackwood the edgeburst effect. I just wish they would use flamed blackwood for the headstock facing instead of ebony.

As I said in my January post for Tasmanian farmers to get their product into the top of the market should be an occasion for recognition and celebration.

Unfortunately that is not how wood markets operate.

Is this extraordinary market achievement resulting in more blackwood being planted by Tasmanian farmers?

Surely it should!

Utilising market forces (price, supply, demand, achievements, etc.) to help drive the future of the blackwood industry should be the backbone of industry and Government policy.

Instead market demand just helps the Tasmanian Government/Parliament justify logging public native blackwood forest in our Conservation Reserves!

https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2017/10/23/tasmanian-rainforest-plunder/

Thankfully this is not where Taylor Guitars source their blackwood timber, which comes from Tasmanian Tonewoods salvaged from Tasmanian farms.

https://tasmaniantonewoods.com/

Congratulations to Taylor Guitars and to Tasmanian Tonewoods!

What a great achievement!!

We just need to complete the story….

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Posted in Markets, Taylor Guitars, Tonewood

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The burning of Notre Dame and Tasmanian Special Timbers

Posted on April 17, 2019 | Leave a comment

NotreDameFire

The burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on 15/4/2019 provides the perfect metaphor for the continuing destruction of Tasmania’s natural heritage.

The world was horrified that the 800 year old World Heritage Listed cathedral was on fire. How could humanity lose such a treasure?

But here in Tasmania 800+ year old heritage is destroyed every single day!

Here in Tasmania 800+ year old trees are cut down every day, at taxpayer expense, to provide a lowly subsistence for the rent seekers in the Tasmanian special timbers industry; sawmillers, furniture makers, luthiers, craftsmen, shop keepers, etc..

Trees such as Celery Top Pine (Phyllocladus aspleniifolius) and Myrtle (Nothofagus cunninghamii) live within Tasmania’s cool temperate rainforest and can live for 800-1000 years, germinating long before Bishop Maurice de Sully commenced the construction of Notre Dame in 1160.

Some of these trees are even in designated Conservation Reserves that were specifically established to protect these very same ancient trees and forests.

Such is the perverse corrupt nature of public native forestry and politics in the island State of Tasmania.

https://www.stategrowth.tas.gov.au/energy_and_resources/forestry/special_species_timber_management_plan

The public response to the damage at Notre Dame has been nothing but extraordinary. €100s millions have been pledged by individuals to rebuild Notre Dame and restore this international treasure.

Meanwhile in Tasmania these 800+ year old trees are destroyed with no process transparency, no FSC certification, at considerable public expense and no thought for the heritage that is being destroyed.

These people are the Notre Dame arsonists of Tasmania:

http://livingwoodtasmania.org.au/

https://www.facebook.com/TasmanianSpecialTimbersAlliance/

and many, many more. They number in the thousands in Tasmania!

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Posted in Commentary, Island Specialty Timbers, Markets, Politics

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Tasmanian blackwood makes it to the top of the Taylor tree

Posted on January 29, 2019 | Leave a comment

taylor ps tb1

The latest Taylor Guitars Wood & Steel magazine (Vol. 93 2019 Winter, p. 28) shows us that Tasmanian blackwood has finally made it to the peak of Taylors model range.

https://www.taylorguitars.com/wood-and-steel

Fifteen years after introducing Tasmanian blackwood into their limited production and three years after introducing blackwood into their regular production in the 300 series models, Tasmanian blackwood is now included in Taylor’s top-of-the-line Presentation Series (PS) models.

The Presentation Series are an annual limited edition series of guitars that feature premium woods and premium appointments.

Our Presentation Series celebrates the finest in materials and craftsmanship detail. This year we’re thrilled to introduce the wood pairing of figured Tasmanian blackwood and Adirondack spruce to the collection. Tonally, we love blackwood — it’s loud, responsive and warm, yet with a clear focus. The sets we’ve selected boast a beautiful blend of variegation, figure and grain structure reminiscent of Hawaiian koa, featuring golden-brown and dark amber ribbons of color. Together with a top of creamy Adirondack spruce, this guitar is no mere showpiece; its dynamic voice is ripe for the picking (or strumming). Or, if you prefer the rich, dark variegation of a sinker redwood top, the option is yours. We’ve also shifted from a beveled armrest to our radius contouring, which ensures comfort for players of all sizes. Our elegant suite of aesthetic appointments saves the understatement for other models, tracing the lines of the guitar with sparkling paua and other eye-catching ornamentation, including our intricate Nouveau fretboard/ peghead inlay. From every angle, these guitars deliver stunning aesthetic appeal.

Tasmanian blackwood Presentation Series models to become available are: PS12ce, PS12ce 12-Fret, PS14ce, PS16ce, PS56ce, PS18e.

These guitars are so new they haven’t yet made it onto the Taylor website. Stay tuned!

https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/features/series/presentation

Prices for Presentation Series guitars start around $US9,000. These are top-shelf guitars for people with deep pockets.

Even despite the inevitable “koa’s poor cousin” comparison, Taylor are obviously confident they are making progress getting Tasmanian blackwood accepted into world guitar markets.

Congratulations Taylor Guitars!!

For Tasmanian farmers to get their product into the top of the market should be an occasion for recognition and celebration.

Unfortunately that is not how wood markets operate.

Is this extraordinary market achievement resulting in more Tasmanian blackwood being planted by Tasmanian farmers?

Surely it should!

Utilising market forces (price, supply, demand, achievements, etc.) to help drive the future of the blackwood industry should be the backbone of industry and Government policy.

Unfortunately market demand just helps the Tasmanian Government/Parliament justify logging native blackwood forest in our Conservation Reserves.

Thankfully this is not where Taylor Guitars source their blackwood timber, which comes from Tasmanian Tonewoods salvaged from Tasmanian farms.

https://tasmaniantonewoods.com/

But in the opaque world of the global timber trade politics and greed often confound good intensions.

So here’s the take home message:

Tasmanian blackwood timber achieves another major international market milestone (thanks Taylor Guitars!!!), but no Tasmanian farmer will learn anything about this achievement, let alone be moved to invest in planting blackwood for the future.

Are you beginning to understand the problem we face?

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Posted in Commentary, Markets, Taylor Guitars, Tonewood

Blackwood retail price update

Posted on January 14, 2019 | Leave a comment

I reported on this Tasmanian blackwood retailer previously:

https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2018/06/07/another-blackwood-timber-price-list/

Once again the best way to represent this price list is to sort the boards by volume per linear metre. There are still price anomalies that are not due to differences in size or grade.

This sawmiller/retailer specialises in Tasmanian “specialty timbers”.

These timbers obviously come from Tasmanian public native forest, which as everyone should know by now, comes to market at great cost to Tasmanian taxpayers, the plundering of the last of our oldgrowth and rainforest, and the logging of our Conservation Reserves.

These facts don’t seem to worry many people. This retailer has plenty of support.

Welcome to the Tasmanian forest industry!

sjt2-18pl

These are retail prices for kiln-dried and dressed blackwood. This price list includes select, feature and bark-edge grades – can you spot the difference in price between the grades?

The prices which last time were north of $8,000 per cubic metre have dropped back. Obviously the local market is not prepared to pay that kind of price at the moment. Otherwise blackwood prices have remained stable over the past 12 months.

That Tasmanian blackwood timber can command these prices but is not grown commercially in Tasmania is one of life’s many mysteries.

It could also be called a failure of Government and industry policy, and a failure of the marketplace.

Cheers!

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Posted in Markets, Price Lists

The end is nigh!

Posted on September 18, 2018 | Leave a comment

Bunnings

The public native forest market is shifting quickly.

Wesfarmers, the parent company of Bunnings Hardware and Officeworks, yesterday announced they will only stock FSC certified products by 2020.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-17/vic-forestry-industry-at-risk-of-collapse/10255128

This means both Vicforests and Sustainable Timbers Tasmania will cease to exist.

Neither of these State Government forest agencies are likely to achieve FSC certification before then. Bunnings is a major customer for both these agencies products.

In less than a week since its launch the new National Forest Industries Plan has been dealt a mortal blow!

https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2018/09/17/national-forest-industries-plan-2018/

Six weeks ago Bunnings gave warning that it was living up to its policies and making a stand against poor forest management practices in Australia:

https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2018/08/04/bunnings-finally-takes-a-stand/

All around Australia public native forest management is in crisis.

Stand by for some serious fireworks!

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Posted in Markets, Politics, Sustainable Timbers Tasmania

Queensland farmers growing African mahogany in plantations

Posted on August 27, 2018 | Leave a comment

MahoganyNQ

This recent ABC Landline story introduced me to yet another group of Australian farmers who are getting on and growing quality high value timber for the marketplace:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-26/african-mahogany:-plantation-forestry-could-value/10166656

African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) has a 200+ year reputation as a premium quality hardwood, but supplies from West Africa are all but exhausted.

Check out their website:

http://mahoganynq.com/

and on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/MahoganyNQ/

These people are at the stage of first harvest and looking to break in to the fickle Australian timber market.

The question now is – will the Australian market support these farmers in their efforts to build a new forest industry?

To date the Australian market (architects, builders, joiners, furniture makers, consumers, etc.) has shown little interest in encouraging and supporting Australian farmers growing trees for wood production.

It’s well past time for that attitude to change.

This is a great story and definitely needs everyones support.

Who said Australian farmers won’t grow timber?

Now!

Anyone for growing Tasmanian blackwood?

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Posted in Cooperatives, Markets, Plantations