Timber iQ August - September 2017 // Issue: 33 | Page 58

REGULARS - TALKING TIMBER
High stakes for
future timber supply
The next few years look positive for the timber industry, as the
demand is high and the supply adequate.
By Roy Southey, executive director of Sawmilling South Africa | Images by Dolphin Bay Timber
A timber shortage looms, as the total area under plantation in South Africa is not expanding in line with demand for structural timber.
I
n the medium term, however, a timber shortage looms,
as the total area under plantation in South Africa is not
expanding in line with the demand for structural timber.
South Africa is self-sufficient currently regarding
structural timber. However, the shortage in the next five to
six years is what we must address.
This year, the demand for structural timber is
particularly high in the southern Cape and Western Cape.
Indications are that the pole industry, too, is healthy,
largely because the government continues to implement
large electrification programmes.
After five or six years, the supply is expected to become
inadequate for demand. Plans are not yet in place to
ensure an adequate future supply of timber, and it is
estimated that South Africa must import nearly half its
pine for structural purposes within the next two decades.
The sawmilling industry is in consultation with the
government about several possible remedial measures.
One is for the government to grant licences for more
56 AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2017 //
plantations. The restrictions were introduced about 20
years ago due to a dwindling water supply, and as the
economy of the country grew, the establishment of forests
lagged behind. It takes 22 to 30 years for trees to mature
sufficiently to be used for structural timber, depending on
where the plantations are in the country.
Another measure is for the sawmilling industry to
increase its efficiency. Currently, only about 49% of every
tree is used, of which 20% goes into the structural
industry. We need to improve this figure.
Expensive new technology is required to achieve this.
We have been talking to the Department of Trade and
Industry about this possibility, but whether it is viable for
companies at this stage is debatable.
Each of the measures to ensure an adequate supply of
South African-grown timber would take many years
to implement.
See more on page 58