The average wharf gate price for NZ A-grade logs dropped to $114 a tonne in July, from $116 a tonne in June, according to AgriHQ’s monthly survey of exporters, forest owners and sawmillers. That’s the lowest level since December’s $104 a tonne.
The in-market price of A-grade logs in China declined to US$117/JAS (Japanese Agriculture and Forestry Standards) from US$120/JAS last month as Asia’s largest economy heads into a seasonal construction slowdown. A lift in the NZ dollar following the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union also made the country’s export logs less competitive.
“New Zealand log exporters have experienced some weakness in returns,” AgriHQ analysts Reece Brick and Shaye Lee said in their report. “While in-market returns for logs fell a little, the exchange rate had a large influence on wharfgate prices.”
Still, inventory levels at ports were moderate compared to past seasons and would act to counter some of the potential weakness, they said.
Meanwhile, the NZ domestic market was sturdy, AgriHQ said.
“Supply and demand elements are in log harvesters’ favour at present,” the report said. “While many mills throughout the North Island would be more than willing to take in more logs than they currently are, there isn’t enough volume available to do this without paying above the market rate.”
In the pruned market, P1 logs rose to $187 a tonne from $184/t last month, the highest price since June 1995, AgriHQ said.
In the structural market, S1 logs gained to $115/t from $114/t last month, the highest level since June 2014, AgriHQ said.
Pulp prices were unchanged at $49/t and have held within a range of $49/t and $51/t since September 2014, AgriHQ said.
Forest products are NZ’s third-largest commodity export group behind dairy and meat products.
