A string of natural disasters in Japan, Australia and Christchurch could create an increase in demand for New Zealand wood, the Marlborough Forest Industry Association says.
Association secretary Ron Sutherland said it was too soon to estimate how much demand would increase, but companies would be watching the situation.
The magnitude-8.9 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on Friday destroyed a sawmill that supplied the country with about 25 per cent of its plywood. The shortfall would need to be met from somewhere, he said.
Before the February 22 earthquake in Christchurch, the city would have been close to the rebuilding phase, so demand for wood products would have also increased, he said.
Any extra demand for wood products would affect the whole country and not just Marlborough, he said.
He expected forestry companies to wait for orders rather than kick into overdrive and prepare logs for shipping in advance.
Flight Timber Ltd director Rick Osborne said it was "a bit ghoulish" for forestry companies to think about making money from the disasters.
Some companies thought the Christchurch rebuild would be a boon for them, but now there were big delays and uncertainty, he said.
Wood Council chairman Doug Ducker said the Japanese would need to import more wood products to rebuild parts of north Japan hit by the earthquake and tsunami.
However, the National Distribution Workers Union is worried sawmills could fail before rebuilding in Japan or Christchurch begins.
Earlier this year, the union said the wood-processing industry was "in crisis", because 1129 jobs had been lost in the sector since 2008.
The downturn in the industry has been caused by strong global log prices and a slump in new housing construction.
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