Mitsubishi Rejects Old-Growth Chip Mills - Tasmanian Wood Industry Whines

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The Japanese company Mitsubishi Paper Mills has said it will stop using woodchips from old-growth forests. MPM is a major customer for Tasmanian woodchip exporter Gunns Limited, and Tasmania's forest industry has accused environmental groups of economic vandalism.

The leader of the Greens in Tasmania, Peg Putt, said MPM's decision was a significant development for forest conservation. "There will now be market pressure on other Japanese woodchip customers … to follow the lead of Mitsubishi Paper Mills and adopt more enlightened purchasing policies," she said.

The state Minister for Infrastructure, Energy and Resources, Bryan Green, said MPM had been subject to an "international misinformation campaign". "The result could well be they'll be directed to countries where forest management is not subject to the same tight controls as in Tasmania," he said.

EDIT

The chief executive of the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania, Terry Edwards, said the conservationists' campaign in Japan had undermined Tasmania's economic well-being and reputation in international markets. He said only 5 per cent of woodchips exported to Japan came from old-growth forests." (emphasis added)

EDIT

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/mitsubishi-rejects-oldgrowth-wood/2005/06/28/1119724637409.html?oneclick=true