Forestry
|
The newsprint industry faced some unique challenges in 2003.
Despite significant production and price growth (in US dollar
terms), annual shipment value (in Canadian dollar terms) did not
rise. This unusual phenomenon is a reflection of the rapid
appreciation of the Canadian dollar relative to the US currency.
Overall, newsprint volume is expected to increase by about 3.8%
this year, slightly higher than forecast in March, while value
will likely remain close to its 2002 level.
|
| Volume and Value of Newsprint Shipments
|
|
 |
| Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods
Department of Finance |
|
|
|
Performance indicators for the first three quarters of 2003
support the annual expectations. Production increased by 5.1%
compared to the same period in 2002. Over the same period,
newsprint transaction prices in US dollars increased, but
declined in Canadian dollar terms. The net result was that the
value of newsprint shipments was $412 million Canadian in the
first three quarters of this year, representing only a 3%
increase over the same period in 2002. |
|
|
After posting
substantial production increases over the past decade, the
lumber industry suffered some major setbacks during the past
year. The two largest mills in the province, A.L. Stuckless
and Bloomfield Lumber, were forced to shut down
operations earlier this year due to a combination of
wood supply constraints, low market prices and other
factors. These two mills recently re-opened but are
producing on a much smaller scale. Another significant
producer, Canada Bay Lumber, was destroyed by fire this
past June.
Lumber markets have been volatile over the past two
years. Lumber prices increased in early 2002, to US$300
per thousand board feet, in conjunction with increased
US demand for Canadian product in anticipation of
pre-announced import tariffs. This created a build-up in
inventories which subsequently caused prices to decline
severely to a low of US$221 by November 2002. Prices
remained relatively low over the past winter and spring,
then spiked dramatically to US$359 in September due to
the unusually bad forest fire season. Prices stabilized
to US$293 per thousand board feet in October and are
expected to remain near this level throughout 2004.
|
Agrifoods
|
Farm cash receipts
totalled $39.5 million in the first half of 2003,
representing a decline of 1.6% from the same period in
2002. Dairy products, which account for approximately
one third of total receipts, were down by 2.2%, egg
production was up by 8.1%, while floriculture and
nursery products were on par with last year.
In May 2003, Newfoundland and Labrador became the first
province in Canada to sign an Agricultural Policy
Framework (APF) agreement with the federal government.
The APF is a 60/40 cost-shared federal/provincial
initiative designed to address the challenges and
opportunities in the agrifoods industry by focusing on
the following: Business Risk Management, Environment,
Food Safety and Quality, Science & Innovation and
Renewal. More than $32 million will be spent in the
first five years of the program.
|
|
