Log exports boom carves a path for NZ ports

Having exported about 400,000 tonnes of Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) logs last year, Gisborne’s Eastland Port is expecting to reach about 600,000 JAS tonnes this year, according to Eastland Infrastructure chief executive Matt Todd.

“We are starting to see the ‘wall of wood’ being realised in Gisborne and harvest rates are continuing to increase by all of the main players – we see no sign of that abating,”he says.

Port Nelson chief executive Martin Byrne, whose port is also handling its largest log volume for several years, indicates there has been “huge demand”from such Asian countries as China, India, Korea and Japan.

“All the log ports are busy – Gisborne, Tauranga and Lyttelton – you’d get a similar story right around the country,”he says.