1. The South African Forestry Industry’s Perspective on Forestry & Forest Products Statistics
Roger Godsmark
Operations Director, Forestry South Africa
Presentation to FAO Workshop on Forest Products Statistics
27th November 2014

2. Presentation Outline Background: Forestry South Africa
Overview of the Forestry & FP Industry in South Africa
Forestry and Forest Products Industry Data in South Africa
Conclusion

3. Background: Forestry South Africa
Section 1
Background: Forestry South Africa

4. Whose Overriding Role is ……..
In Essence FSA is……..
A voluntary Association of timber growers
Whose Overriding Role is ……..
To represent the best interests of its members; and
The interests of the South African Forestry Industry
Membership
All 11 Corporate timber companies operating in SA
1 300 commercial timber farmers
small-scale timber growers

5. * TOTAL PLANTED PLANTATION AREA = 1 268 443: FSA MEMBERS 91.6%
Who Are FSA’s Members?
MEMBER DESCRIPTION
NUMBER
HECTARES
(1): Corporate Companies
Private
Ex-SAFCOL
SAFCOL (KLF) 9 4 1
SUB-TOTAL 14
(2): Commercial Enterprises
Timber Farmers
Timber Co-ops
1 300
23 600
1 304
(3): Small-Scale Growers
20 000
45 000
GRAND TOTAL
21 318 *
* TOTAL PLANTED PLANTATION AREA = : FSA MEMBERS 91.6%

6. FSA’s Main Activities FSA fulfils its mandate by doing 4 main things
Acts as a Lobby Group
Government (National, Provincial & Local)
NGOs (e.g. Forest Stewardship Council)
Other Bodies (e.g. SETA, Funding, Research, Universities etc.)
Acts as collector & distributor of funding
Acts as the keeper, analyser & distributor of information
Co-ordinates, organises and capacitates small-scale growers
Lobbying is becoming an ever increasing activity
FSA’s interventions generally high level & at national level

7. Overview of Forestry & FP Industry in South Africa
Section 2
Overview of Forestry & FP Industry in South Africa

8. Forest Resources in South Africa
There are three “forest types” in South Africa
Woodlands (reported on every 4 years)
Land where more than 10% canopy cover
+/- 40 million hectares
Widespread
Mainly exploited for fuelwood
Plantations (reported on annually)
hectares of intensively managed exotic tree plantations
Highly regulated
Pine (51%), Eucalyptus (42%) and Wattle (7%)
70% production goes for pulp & paper production
Indigenous forests (reported on every 4 years)
Comprises thousands of small forest patches + one large one is S. Cape
Protected by law
Minimal economic value

9. Location of Plantations in South Africa
You are here

10. The SA Forestry & Forest Products Industry – An Overview
By any measure, the Forestry and Forest Products Industry is a major contributor to SA’s economy
1.3 million hectares of plantations. Investment value - $2.6bn
Annual sustainable production 20 million tons
Production in 2011/ mt (18.2m m3) valued at $672 m
Primary processing plants – 141 (of which 76 sawmills and 17 pulp, paper & board mills)
Intake in 2011/ mt (of which pulpwood 73% & sawlogs 20%)
Main products: pulp (2.6mt), woodchips (2.4mt) and lumber (1.4m m3)
Total value of sales in 2011/12 from primary processing plants $1.9bn
Exports of forest products in 2013 amounted to $1.7bn which resulted in a positive trade balance of $380m.
Employs people of which in forestry operations

11. The SA Forest Sector Key Developments & Characteristics
Commercial plantation forestry is the focus of data collection
Area of commercial forestry plantations has been declining for 20 years
Only areas within SA where new afforestation can take place is Eastern Cape ( ha) and Zululand ( ha)
Major developments over past 20 years:
Move towards “outsourcing” of operations (contractors now biggest employer)
Increased focus on mechanisation of operations
Increasing focus on developing forestry enterprises in neighbouring countries (especially Mozambique) given lack of expansion opportunities locally
Ownership pattern determines ease of data collection
Corporates – easy
Commercial farmers – relatively easy
Small-scale growers – very difficult
Processors – formal plants easy, informal plants difficult

12. Forestry & FP Industry Data in South Africa
Section 3
Forestry & FP Industry Data in South Africa

13. Why is Forestry & Forest Products Data Collected in South Africa?
Local legal obligations in terms of National Forests Act (1998)
Annual “Commercial Timber Resources and Primary Roundwood Processing” Report
Every four years, the “State of the Forests” Report
International reporting obligations
FAO
Although there are legal obligations to produce this data, from a private sector perspective, it is essential that we have this data for various reasons & uses.

14. Data Requirements of Industry
Physical stats on Forestry & FP Industries (e.g. areas, production, intakes etc) (DAFF / Pvt. Sector - FES)
Forestry cost benchmarking data (Pvt. Sector - FES)
Sawmill cost benchmarking data (Pvt. Sector - Crickmay)
Secondary processing stats (Industry Assocs e.g. PAMSA)
Import and export data (quantity, value, origin & destination) (SA Revenue Service)
Biomass inventory (nobody)
GDP data (Stats SA)
The provision of most of the data we need is available but not from a central source and in certain cases, at a cost

15. The “Green Mamba” Data Collection
The main vehicle for the collection of Forestry and Forest Products data in South Africa is the following…………….
The “Green Mamba”

16. Data Collection “Commercial Timber Resources and Primary Roundwood Processing” Report
Data collected via “Green Mamba” census forms which are posted to recipients
By law all forest owners and owners of primary processing plants have to compete the forms
Focuses specifically on “Commercial” timber plantations and “Primary” roundwood processors
Process from sending out census forms and printing Report takes a year.
1 900 census forms sent out in July each year
Recipients have till end of February in following year to complete
1st draft produced in March and final Report published in June.
In order to improve response levels, DAFF outsourced collection, compilation and publication of data to well respected private company linked to the Forestry Industry (Forestry Economics Services – FES)
Census form long and complicated to fill in.

17. Data Content (1) “Commercial Timber Resources and Primary Roundwood Processing” Report
This Report is comprehensive and provides the Industry with a lot of the data that it needs. It covers the following areas.
Forestry
Plantation areas per region by:
Species
Management objectives
Age class & mean annual increment (MAI)
Production from plantations per region by:
Product
Value

18. Data Content (2) “Commercial Timber Resources and Primary Roundwood Processing” Report
Forestry (continued)
New afforestation & land converted out of timber production per region by:
Species
Management objectives
Damage caused to plantations per region by:
Genus (softwood & hardwood)
Fire
Pests and Diseases
Weather
Animals

19. Data Content (3) “Commercial Timber Resources and Primary Roundwood Processing” Report
Primary Processing
Number of primary processing plants by:
Type
Intake
Investment (book value)
Intake per region by:
Product
Species
Production and sales of forest products from primary processing plants by:
Value

20. Concerns
DAFF has lost internal capacity to collect data (although by outsourcing the function, the quality of data has improved).
By the time the data is published it is already a year out of date. Currently two years out of date as DAFF delayed the signing of the outsourcing contract for over a year three years ago.
Only “Commercial” timber plantations and “Primary” roundwood processors are covered (e.g. nothing on woodlands, indigenous forests or secondary processing).
Coverage is nowhere near 100%
Most of small-scale timber growers’ data not collected
Many informal processing plants (e.g. sawmills) excluded
Verification system (via remote sensing), not in place.
Total Biomass inventory is not reported on (this is important (a) for the Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) process as do not have baseline data and (b) for carbon trading purposes)
Non-timber forest products data not recorded.

21. What Does the Industry Use the Data For?
The Industry regards having sound baseline data as essential for the development of the Industry. Amongst others, the Industry uses the data for the following purposes……….
To establish trends so that Industry can initiate corrective action (e.g. fire damage) or to initiate lobbying to change policy (e.g. new afforestation)
To assist with the production of timber supply and demand forecasts
To determine what forest resources there are in a particular area to determine investment opportunities for industrial development
To determine areas where new afforestation could take place
To determine where new export markets could exist
Regarding cost benchmarking data, to determine the feasibility of potential investment opportunities
To produce its own analysis of the Industry

22. New Afforestation 1980 to 2012
Economy good
Economy good but drought
Economy good but policy bad
Economy bad & policy bad
RESULT: FSA engaged with DAFF to try and make it easier for timber growers to obtain water use licences to plant trees

23. Damage to Plantations by Fires 1980 to 2012
RESULT: After loosing ha in 2007 and the following year, Industry put in place more effective fire fighting resources

24. Average Productivity per Hectare 1980 - 2012
Total increase in productivity over period – 4.1 m3 per ha p.a. (40%)

25. The Data Itself
In order to be able to use the data produced effectively, we need to ensure the following……
It needs to be relevant to our needs
Its integrity needs to be sound (i.e. accurate as possible)
It needs to be produced on time & at set intervals
We would also like to have assess to data from our neighbouring countries

26. Section 4
Conclusion

27. Overall Thoughts (1) Standardisation of data collected:
Although the South African Forestry Industry is generally well served by the Industry statistics produced by the SA Government and other bodies, there are some issues from an African perspective that we feel need addressing. These are…
Standardisation of data collected:
What data is collected and reported upon
Synchronisation of reporting periods (calendar year vs split year)
Standardisation of reporting units (e.g. tons vs m3)
Language policy (English & Portuguese i.r.o. SADC)
Synchronisation of rebasing of data i.r.o contribution to GDP (New international System of National Accounts (SNA) System)
Data collection: Given the challenges that this poses, it may be an idea to look at the following:
Remote sensing i.r.o. forestry inventory
Verbal reporting rather than written reporting

28. Overall Thoughts (2)
Communication: There is a need to improve the dissemination of forestry and forest products data between African countries. Communication between countries thus far in this respect has been poor. Communication should not be just between Governments but should involve the private sector.
Co-operation between countries: There is no need to re-invent the wheel. I am sure that constructive dialogue between countries in the region and with the assistance of the FAO, will be able to come up with a workable solution which will provide accurate and timely data which will be of benefit to both the respective Government’s and Private Sectors involved.
Although Forestry South Africa cannot speak on behalf of the South African Government, we would be willing to assist in this process should we be called upon to do so.

29. Thank You