The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has welcomed the Commonwealth’s $1.3 million Agricultural Trade and Market Access Cooperation (ATMAC) grant awarded to Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) as a further driver of innovation and to deliver diversification options for domestic and export use for forest industries, Chief Executive Officer of AFPA, Ross Hampton said today.
“This ATMAC grant awarded to FWPA will help processors, particularly of engineered wood products (EWP) to build a manufacturing platform. The demand for EWP is increasing with new technological advancements and the move to a more carbon conscious world. We also need to be smarter in making more products from existing resource to aid supply constraints,” Ross Hampton said.
“This grant addresses a very important piece in the puzzle in managing future demand. There will be a time lag from planting more trees, to having extra wood supply to meet future needs, so doing more with existing resources is a practical part of the solution.
“The project grant will benefit the whole of the forest industries supply chain and ultimately lead to more advanced products being developed, traded and exported.
“The announcement also builds on the Coalition’s announcement from last week of $112.9 million to accelerate the adoption of new wood processing technologies to ensure Australia can make the most of the timber we already have.
“AFPA will work with FWPA and our broad forest industries to make the most of this ATMAC grant funding, so Australia can work towards securing sovereign capability in timber and manufacturing capability,” Ross Hampton concluded.