The Entire Tasmanian Plantation Harvest Cannot Supply Half Of Gunns Pulp Mill Feedstock

This is hard to believe.

The entire annual Tasmanian plantation harvest can supply LESS THAN HALF OF THE FEEDSTOCK FOR GUNNS PROPOSED PULP MILL.

So why are Gunns locating their pulp mill further away from the world pulp market than most of the mills feedstock? Gunns have been growing plantations for over 100 years, yet have never been able to supply their own requirements.

Tasmania’s ENTIRE private plantation harvest in 07-08 was 1.7 million tonnes.

Forestry Tasmania’s 2008 Annual Report put their plantation output at another 177,000 tonnes. Total plantation production in 2008 was 1.87 million tonnes. A lot of wood chips yes, but not even half enough for a mill designed to eat 4.4 million tonnes a year.

THE BREAKDOWN: Gunns proposed mill normal production output is 1.1 million tonnes of pulp (4 tonnes of chips make 1 tonne of pulp).

To produce this Gunns needs 4.4 million tonnes of chips.

Sadly for Gunns, the whole island of Tasmania can supply less than half of this tonnage.

With this company a certain element of misinformation must always be factored in, but on the figures available, and by their own statements they are being run by people who would think manufacturing Viagra on Macquarie Island is a commercially sound proposition.

For the record, I think Australia should be making paper from wheat chaff (the by-product of wheat grain), not trees. So no new pulp mills in Australia.