A major highlight in May was the Forestry South Africa (FSA) annual general meeting held in Howick.

Tangible evidence of the positive support FSA is offering to the industry was the turnout, the largest in many years. The choice of a topical guest speaker set the seal on a most worthwhile occasion.

Dr John Endres, CEO of the Institute for Race Relations, delivered a perceptive presentation on the current state of the economy before offering some possible scenarios concerning South Africa’s future. He also touched on the background to the national general election and its likely outcomes. One thing he made clear was that power sharing is something we should not necessarily be afraid of as coalitions are relatively commonplace on the political stage.

Certainly, our industry is not alone about the results and all they may bring, with a cabinet reshuffle most likely on the cards.

Big news for June is our own AGM on 12 June at 09:30am at Future Africa. If you have not received an invitation, please email us or head to our RSVP page.

Also on the radar is the Kenya BuildCon in Nairobi. An SSA representative will be attending with the intention of meeting as many building supply dealers as possible.

We already have a good knowledge of the market’s requirements in terms of products and specifications, however the specific purpose of the visit is to establish the viability of this market from a business perspective.
Research on the Chinese market is making good progress, aided by help and support from both the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and Standard Bank China. We will keep you fully updated on developments via future issues of this newsletter.

News around our local market is that conditions are as tough as ever, with customers insisting on ever tightening margins. This is something that must change, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Another highlight to look forward to will be WoodEX for Africa to be held in Johannesburg at the Gallagher Convention Centre from 4 to 6 June. This will serve as a major attraction for wood workers who will be able to see the latest on offer from equipment suppliers. SSA will have some material available at the WoodBiz stand, make sure you stop by and visit their booth.

And ICYMI (In Case You Missed It), here is the link to our 23 May Talking Timber webinar where the speakers focused on Timber and Acoustics. We are incredibly grateful to our fellow sponsors for making this a possibility: Rotho Blaas South Africa, Stellenbosch University, and the York Timbers chair at the University of Pretoria.

In April, we gave our first warning of the impending fire season, especially relevant to our northern colleagues. Now this time is almost upon us. Once again, we urge you to keep this in mind and to be extra careful when you venture out into veld and forest.

So remember in these tough times, it is of even greater importance to CUT STRAIGHT AND DRY FLAT.

Cheers,
Roy Southey
Executive Director: Sawmilling South Africa