Smithfield meatworks closure: Forestry not to blame, New Zealand Forest Owners Association says

By RNZ A group that represents the owners of New Zealand’s commercial plantation forests disputes that forestry is one of the reasons behind the proposed closure of the Smithfield meatworks . Alliance Group told staff on Friday it planned to fully close its meat processing plant in Timaru, with Federated Farmers saying land use change was to blame , with farms being converted into carbon forests at alarming rates. The New Zealand Forest Owners Association said the area of production forestry across the country had decreased in the last 20 years but Beef + Lamb New Zealand said focusing on the total forestry area overlooked the impact of recent land-use change on the sector.

Statistics from Te Uru Rākau - New Zealand Forest Service show there were 1,696,604 hectares of forestry across the country in 2019..