New Zealand Journal of Forestry (2014) 58(4): 44–46
©New Zealand Institute of Forestry

Opinion
Could we be selling our mid-rotation plantations too cheaply?

Wink Sutton <sup>1

1</sup> Wink Sutton is a retired Forester/Silviculturist.

New Zealand is one of the best countries in the world to invest in plantation forestry. Our warm, wet, temperate climate and our young, generally fertile soils are ideal for tree growing. New Zealand is suited to growing radiata pine. We just take it for granted, but we have at least 125 years of plantation experience that is supported by more than 60 years of a very focused research effort. We have a very stable democracy and are one of least corrupt countries in the world. Reluctance to invest in new plantations We have few problems attracting, especially overseas, investors to buy our existing plantations. In spite of our plantation establishment know-how and our rapid rates of tree growth, investors (with a few exceptions) are very reluctant to invest in establishing new plantations. There has been almost no net increase in the area of plantations in the last 10 years.
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