New Zealand's booming export log market is starting to catch the jitters as concerns mount about the impact of US President Donald Trump's trade war.
Demand for New Zealand logs has been strong over recent years as local sawmills compete with the export market to source logs for local construction, at a time when demand in China has stepped up after Asia's largest economy clamped down on the harvesting of its own forests and reduced tariffs on imported logs to meet demand in its local market. However, trade tensions between the US and China are creating nervousness in the market, as traders fear tariffs will hurt economic growth and dampen demand.
"Positivity has permeated the industry, at least for those selling logs, for upwards of two-years," AgriHQ analyst Reece Brick said in his latest monthly report on the forestry market. "However it's getting a bit nervy all of the sudden. That's not to say everyone's panicking, but there are certainly more reasons to frown than we've seen for a long while.
"The export scene, along with the rest of the world, is trying to figure out what the outcomes will be of the tiff between the US and China. Economic growth data, stock exchange indices and foreign exchange rates have all made unfavourable movements in the past month, and there's little sign that the relations between the two countries is on the mend."
Brick's comments about nervousness in the log market echo similar concerns noted by industry watchers in the dairy and wool industries recently, where demand is said to have weakened as buyers are concerned that tariffs on end products will flow back to dent demand for New Zealand commodities.
