Elders timber plantations in Queensland, Australia, doomed to fail from start, with choice of wrong eucalyptus species for climate, says forestry consultant
Audrey Dixon
LOS ANGELES
,
November 15, 2011
(Industry Intelligence)
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The Elders Forestry Ltd. Timber plantations in Queensland, Australia, used two eucalyptus species inappropriate for that climate, making the plantations a failure from the start, according to a forestry consultant, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) reported Nov. 15.
The eucalyptus dunnii and grandis typically grow in high, fertile, wet areas, unlike the central Queensland region where the plantations are located, said consultant Sean Ryan.
Forestry was the key to the agribusiness company's recent losses announced Monday, according to Elders Ltd. CEO Malcolm Jackman. The Adelaide-based company cited an annual after-tax loss of AU$395 million (US$400.9 million).
Ryan called the plantations “the worst advertising” ever for forestry, ABC reported, noting that Elders had declined to comment.
The company earlier said it had decided to completely withdraw from the forestry sector and was divesting itself of those assets, according to a Nov. 14 press release on its website.
The primary source of this article is the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC), Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 15, 2011.
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