Nelson’s forestry industry is hurting in the wake of another lockdown and another year of lost production time.
Local contractor and Forest Industry Contractors Association board member Nathan Taylor says contractors are disappointed in another lockdown and are crossing their fingers they can get back to work soon.
The local industry took a big hit during 2019 when the Pigeon Valley Fire saw all crews ordered to stop work due to extreme fire dangers and limited resources.
The following year, 2020, was looked to as a year to recover but that all changed when the country went into Level 4 lockdown for five weeks and crews were once again, forced to stop production.
FICA chief executive Prue Younger says, this year, most contractors are resigned to having to stop work.
“We’re just not seen as essential. It does give us a bit of breathing space because some of the ports were pretty clogged before lockdown, so it gives them some time to move some stock.”
Nathan says it feels like the industry has been constantly hit year after year.
“We’ve just come through the floods in Marlborough, so far here it’s generally business as usual. We haven’t really felt the hurt yet, but there are guys over there that still haven’t been able to get back to work since the floods and now this.”
He says now is the time contractors hope to be in full production to prepare for the Christmas and summer period.
“It’s not that far from Christmas which is the scary thing. December through to February is the hardest time to get the bills paid because there is a limited amount of production days with Christmas shutdowns, then Nelson’s public holidays and the likes, so now is when we plan financially for those tough months so that will hurt.”
Nathan also worries for the stock that has already been felled and is sitting on the ground waiting to be processed or transported to the port.
“That will want to be moved in the next couple of weeks. Definitely, we are lucky at this time of the year we’ve got a longer time frame and a wee bit longer life expectancy on the wood because of the weather.
“But soon that wood that is sitting there will start to dry out and get sap stains which will downgrade the quality and force it to be exported instead of staying as domestic grades.”
Prue says the industry got a small reprieve from MPI on Friday with news that silviculturists could continue to plant seedlings that had already been removed from the nursery.
“There will hopefully be minimal production lost there, which is a huge difference to last time.
“Last time we weren’t allowed to go anywhere near the sites, this time they’ve said you can go and plant, but you’ve got to conform to two key covid rules, which are wearing a mask and keeping two metres apart which they can easily do.”
She says each worker is travelling to the sites in a separate vehicle, but it’s been worth it to not lose the young seedlings.
