Forestry in New Zealand
Hawkes Bay Forestry
Overview | Gisborne Forestry | Hawkes
Bay Forestry | Wairarapa
Forestry | New Zealand Institute of Forestry | Wood
Processing Strategy | New
Zealand Facts and Figures 
Forest Enterprises has 4 forests consisting of 1,315 hectares in the Hawkes Bay region, which is in the east of New Zealand's North Island.
The Hawkes Bay area meets all Forest Enterprises criteria for afforestation - good growth rates, land of good contour, an extensive existing forestry infrastructure, a major pulp and sawmill at Whirinaki (Pan Pac) and an excellent log export port.
As at 1 April 1995 it was estimated that there were 118,281 hectares of planted forests in the Hawkes Bay. The rate of afforestation is increasing as areas of pastoral farm land are being sold for forestry. Major owners (in addition to Forest Enterprises Investors) include Hawkes Bay Forests Ltd (30,000 hectares), Carter Holt Harvey Forests Ltd (17,300 hectares), Juken Nissho (6,300 hectares), Tasman Forestry (6,058 hectares), and Te Awahohonu (5,700 hectares).
A view of the log yard at the Pan Pac sawmill with the pulpmill in the background.
The Whirinaki Pulp and Sawmill (PanPac) dominates the Hawkes Bay processing industry. The mill consumes about 550,000 tonnes of logs plus about 60,000 tonnes of purchased wood chip a year. ‘PanPac’ is jointly owned by two Japanese companies, New Oji Paper Coy. Ltd and Nippon Paper Industries Coy. Ltd. The mill exports 200,000 tonnes of dried pulp and 150,000 tonnes of dimensional lumber to Japan each year.
The company has also recently invested about $4 million preparing a site at the Port of Napier for the woodchip trade.
An aerial view of the busy Napier log export port.
Forest product exports are an important and increasing component of trade through the Port of Napier with forestry-based cargoes representing 31.7% of the total volumes handled through the port.
Log volumes grew 56.4% in 2000 to .391 million tonnes. Developments currently underway (including dredging to allow entry for vessels with a draft up to 11 metres) will enhance the port's capacity to deal with growing forest product export volumes.
The port is also an important loading point for woodchips. It is expected that woodchip exports from Napier will grow to a volume of 200, 000 tonnes a year in the near future.
For more information on the Port of Napier you can visit www.portofnapier.co.nz.
* The statistics quoted are sourced from a paper dated 20 September 1995 entitled ‘Forestry in Hawkes Bay - An Overview in 1995’ by Bruce Easton of Carter Holt Harvey Forests Ltd and from the 2000 Port Report of the Port of Napier.
* FRI Bulletin No. 124 refers to a New Zealand average site index of 29. The site index for all Forest Enterprises’ Hawkes Bay located forests exceed 29, substantiating our statement that Hawkes Bay has above average growth rates.