Soaring wood demand

Wood product use rose sharply from 1996 to 2002, with a dramatic increase in the use of plywoods and particleboards, Statistics New Zealand says. The upturn happened despite the Asian financial crisis hitting the market hard between 1998 and 1999.

Domestic plywood use was up 367 per cent and particleboard up 134 per cent, predominantly in furniture manufacturing and residential construction industries.

Exports (mainly to Australia and Japan) increased by 40 per cent between 1996 and 2002.

The forestry industry contributed about $3 billion last year to GDP, and provided around 100,000 jobs.