Tag Archives: Forestry Research

Business

FRA: Now’s the time to invest in timber

Leave a comment

FRA has signalled its support for a Seeking Alpha claiming that now is a great time to invest in timber.

Bainbridge Island, WA, December 22, 2011 – A recent report from Seeking Alpha claiming that now is a great time to invest in timber, has attracted support from Forestry Research Associates (FRA), an analysis and research consultancy specialising in forestry investment and sustainability.

Although, on the surface, the fact that timber prices have fallen slightly lately could seem like a negative trend for forest investments, FRA supports claims from analyst Kevin McElroy, that this is a great time to buy into the industry. The thinking is that most varieties of timber grown in the North America region are cheaper than they were this time last year. However, the housing market is expected to bottom out very soon and, as a result, prices could soar again before too long.

Wood prices are generally on a growing trend, claims FRA’s analysis partner, Peter Collins who explained, “Between 1987 and 2007, timber’s average return on investment was an impressive 15.7 per cent, far exceeding gains made by those who invested in stocks and shares.”

Mr Collins added, “Forestry is becoming a go-to asset class among savvy investors who are looking to protect their portfolios against risk by opting for an investment that is correlated highly with inflation, but has little correlation with equity markets.”

With widespread predictions that the US housing market will bottom out in 2012, the chance that timber prices could soar off the back of growth within the construction industry, for example, could be too much for investors to resist, claims FRA.

FRA supports investment into sustainable forestry plantations and projects in developing countries, such as the projects run by Greenwood Management. It sees these project as a great way to diversify an investment portfolio while helping to prevent deforestation of some of the world’s most vulnerable and valuable forests. “The plantations of non-native tress that firms like Greenwood crate can offer alternative sources of timber and charcoal to cutting down valuable native forests,” concluded Collins.

Contact:
Peter Collins
Forestry Research Associates
620 Vineyard Lane
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 316 8394
info@forestry-research.com
http://www.forestry-research.com

Business

Forestry Research investment welcomed by Forestry communities, claims FRA

Leave a comment

Forestry Research Associates has announced its support for the forestry research program revealed by The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research at the Durban UN Climate Change Conference this week.

Bainbridge Island, WA, December 15, 2011 – Forestry Research Associates (FRA) has announced its support for the forestry research program revealed by The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) at the Durban UN Climate Change Conference this week.

The 10-year, $233 million project is intended to help protect forests, and the communities that rely upon them, for years to come. The project will from part of the UN’s attempts to protect forests as a source of valuable carbon absorption.

FRA, a research and consultancy organization with a focus on forestry investment and sustainability, said it was pleased to hear that more investment will go into the protecting this important industry. The CGIAR said that the initial three years of the research program will focus on agroforestry, with collaboration with the Colombia-based International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, the Kenya-based World Agroforestry Centre and Indonesia-based CIFOR.

Forests have come to be known as natural and valuable carbon sinks, with some analysts claiming the are responsible to sequestering up to a third of carbon emissions worldwide. As a result, nations are increasingly considering safeguarding forests as one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing climate change.

FRA’s analysis partner, Peter Collins said, “We are hoping that this research projects will give the governments of the developing world even more of a reason to value standing forests as much as the timber they produce.”

Frances Seyfour of the Centre for International Forest Research said that the issues surrounding sustainable forestry go even deeper than this, due to their impact on communities in developing nations. He explained, “We urgently need a strong and sustained effort focused on forest management and governance, given the crucial role of forests in confronting some of the most important challenges of our time: climate change, poverty and food security.”

“Otherwise, we risk the further impoverishment of the billion people who depend on forests and trees for their livelihoods, continued carbon emissions from forest destruction and degradation that already are a significant source of greenhouse gases, and loss of ecosystem services crucial to sustained agricultural productivity,” he concluded.

Contact:
Peter Collins
Forestry Research Associates
620 Vineyard Lane
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 316 8394
info@forestry-research.com
http://www.forestry-research.com

Business

FRA highlights Positive Forestry Report from UK

Leave a comment

A new report highlighting the strength of the forestry market in the UK over the past year has been highlighted by Forestry Research Associates (FRA) as another reason to invest in timber.

Bainbridge Island, WA, December 06, 2011 – A new report highlighting the strength of the forestry market in the UK over the past year has been highlighted by Forestry Research Associates (FRA) as another reason to invest in timber.

The report from property firm Savills and UPM Tilhill, published earlier this week, claims that timber prices are expected to be largely unaffected by the wider economic crises taking place in the Eurozone and the UK. “This report adds weight to the argument for putting some cash into alternatives that are less likely to correlate with wider economic trends,” stated Peter Collins, an analyst with FRA, a research and analysis consultancy that has a special interest in forestry investment and sustainable forestry.

The report highlights the rise in value of forested land in the UK, showing that purchasing forest land is a good way to diversify an investment portfolio to protect it against risk. This is particularly relevant at a time when stocks and shares are so volatile and investors are looking for safe havens for their money over the long and medium term.

This is according to FRA, which supports various forms of forestry investment, from buying forested land in the UK as a property investment, to buying areas of plantation land in Brazil, through managed forestry firms like Greenwood Management.

George McRobbie the forestry operations director at UPM Tilhill said, “We recorded a surge in forest values with an average of £4,650 per stocked hectare being attained, the highest level since our survey started and 34 per cent, some £1,174, up on 2010.”

He added, “This is equivalent to an annualized increase of 13.7 per cent since 2003. Optimism is clearly strong and overall the market is rising, backed by clear investor confidence and strengthening timber prices.”

Savills added that these value increases, along with the tax advantages of investing in timber, will continue to attract people to timber as an asset class.

Contact:
Peter Collins
Forestry Research Associates
620 Vineyard Lane
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 316 8394
info@forestry-research.com
http://www.forestry-research.com