Considering outcomes of our Market Access project to enable greater market opportunities for private growers

Posted 03 February 2026

Harvesting and selling wood Economic benefits and markets PFT

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Private Forests Tasmania's Market Access project has reached a milestone, with the organisation now positioned to consider a series of recommendations to enable greater market opportunities for private growers. 

This strategic project and its recommendations are an important step in identifying options for more efficient pathways for private landowners to enter forest product markets. 

Specifically, the purpose of the project was to undertake a study to identify and assess the feasibility of effective mechanisms to connect private forest landowners with established domestic timber markets in Tasmania. The intended outcome of the project was for Private Forests Tasmania to have some potential pathway recommendations for consideration. 

Project process and key findings

Private Forests Tasmania’s Market Access project first commenced in 2025, when an independent tender was launched to engage a consultant to undertake the work. 

Margules Groome was identified as the successful consultant and they started the project in July with an introductory webinar. Following the webinar, Margules Groome undertook a series of workshops with stakeholders across Tasmania and completed an extensive desktop review of different proven market access models and case studies from around the world and domestically. 

The stakeholder engagement component of this project yielded a consensus on some themes around private growers accessing markets including key barriers of fragmentation and opacity, lack of market and price transparency and complexities in certification and carbon trading. More positively, stakeholders also identified that education, extension services and ability to achieve scale and bargaining power through aggregation and cooperation were possible areas which could potentially support improvements in market access for private growers. 

The work was concluded with a stakeholder webinar in late January 2026, where Margules Groome outlined a series of recommendations to Private Forests Tasmania for consideration. 

These recommendations covered short-, medium- and long-term timeframes and included suggestions for enhancement of existing Private Forests Tasmania resources and tools in addition to options to develop digital platforms, wood flow models and considering the establishment of a grower co-operative. 

The short-term recommendations for consideration included enhancements to Private Forests Tasmania’s Directory of Services, establishing cost databases and econometric models and expanding grower education by sharing hardwood and native log market prices. 

The medium-term recommendations for consideration included developing a digital platform to support spatial visibility of small growers to aggregators and processors, enhancing existing resource inventory work and developing a state-wide wood flow model and plan for aggregate supply of all logs in Tasmania – covering both public and private land. 

The short and medium-term recommendations made by Margules Groome concluded with a view that the appropriate long-term action to enhance market opportunities for private growers was to consider the establishment of a grower co-operative where marketing and logistical services are offered to small Tasmanian growers. 

Margules Groome’s conclusion to the Market Access project highlights the significant untapped potential of private forestry in Tasmania and that new pathways for market access are needed to mitigate stagnation and best support all forestry supply chain participants. 

What’s next?

Margules Groome has delivered the outcomes and recommendations of its work to Private Forests Tasmania for its consideration. Private Forests Tasmania is now taking the opportunity to unpack these recommendations and initiate important discussions with its Board. Private Forests Tasmania will continue to engage with its stakeholders as part of these discussions and looks forward to moving through this process together. 

The discussions will involve consideration of all recommendations, their suitability, feasibility, costs and resourcing in accordance with other Private Forests Tasmania strategic priorities. It is important to acknowledge that some of these recommendations may be outside of the current remit of Private Forests Tasmania as defined by the Private Forests Act 1994, the governing legislation for Private Forests Tasmania. Working through these discussions is a priority for Private Forests Tasmania.

It is intended that following these discussions, Private Forests Tasmania will identify what actions could be taken and by whom following its Market Access project and a potential timeline for this work. 

Most importantly, Private Forests Tasmania will continue to keep stakeholders informed through its eBulletin, general engagement and social media platforms. 

Private Forests Tasmania remains committed to identifying appropriate pathways and making progress towards enhancing opportunities for private forest growers across Tasmania to enter forest products markets, and the conclusion of its Market Access project has been an important foundational step towards the future. 

For more information, or to ask any further questions about the Market Access project and next steps, please contact Private Forests Tasmania on 1300 661 009 or email admin@pft.tas.gov.au