Ukrainian invasion and east coast floods expected to increase timber shortages

Building a house has been a challenge but the war in Ukraine and floods in the eastern states could add more pain – and cost – to the process.

The war in Ukraine and the devastating Australian floods are expected to pile on more pain for homeowners, worsening a timber shortage that has sent prices soaring and crippled supply.

Global lumber prices have soared by 14 per cent to near record highs of $2000 per thousand feet of board since Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine.

Australia imports 25 per cent of its structural timber supply from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, countries which border Ukraine and Russia.

The world’s largest timber certifier designated Russian and Belarusian timber – which accounted for more than $80m of imports to Australia last year – as “conflict timber” banning its use in certified products.

A woman runs past anti-tank structures blocking the streets during an air raid alert in the centre of Kyiv. Picture: AFP

South Australian Forest Products Association chief executive Nathan Paine said the “terrible invasion” of Ukraine had significant potential to harm the SA market and urged political parties to commit to planting 50 million trees over the next four years.

“This crisis is shining a blazing spotlight on the fact that we are not planting enough trees to meet our future needs …,” he said.

“One thing Covid has taught us is the need for sovereign capability to ensure we have enough fibre and timber to meet our needs.”

The site of a car explosion outside a building in Luhansk, Ukraine. Alexander Reka/TASS

Master Builders SA and the Housing Industry Association said the floods in Queensland and New South Wales would also affect timber supply from those regions.

ABS construction cost figures released in December revealed structural timber costs in SA jumped by 39.7 per cent on the previous year.

MBA SA chief executive Will Frogley said it was more urgent than ever to get excess pine logs from Kangaroo Island to mainland sawmills for processing. “Not one (KI) log has been used to build homes,” he said.

The state and federal governments in September committed $15 million to shift 60,000 tonnes of bushfire-affected timber from KI to build between 8000 and 10,000 homes nationally – including up to 2000 in SA.

Morgan Sawmill owner Ed Morgan. His family is trying to expand their sawmill to process more structural timber from Kangaroo Island.

Already 2200 tonnes has been transported to the Jamestown and Dublin yards of timber mill Morgan Sawmill at Jamestown using a $113,560 government subsidy.

Mr Frogley said it was “increasingly frustrating” that logs were sitting “getting a suntan when they are badly needed on site”.

The company has been locked in protracted talks with the state government for funding to expand its operations to process more structural timber. The government has offered $283,000 towards a $1.3m expansion.

Forestry Minister David Basham said the state government has put $3m “on the table” to bring extra timber to the housing industry.

“Just last week we announced a $1.3 million grant to SA Pine which will process 5000 tonnes of additional logs from ForestrySA and next year plans to process 20,000 tonnes from Kangaroo Island,” he said.