Timberland sells against a growing competitive market.

The Smith Agri International (SAI) team announced today the sale of the Gippsland Plantation Aggregation. Located in the highly productive Central Gippsland region of Victoria, these Pinus radiata plantations represent a quality tranche of privatelyowned maturing Pinus radiata plantations ideally located in close proximity to other existing plantation estates, and surrounding processing industry that includes; pulp, structural and landscape markets.

These well managed plantations were established from 1990 by iconic Traralgon based and family owned timber mill, Jelfor Treated Timbers as a ready future source of poles and posts, a strategy that served this second generation timber treatment family extremely well over the years. With tree size and log volume increasing, these maturing plantations represented a valuable proposition wherein these plantations are set to produce high value sawlogs for structural grade timbers ideal for the domestic structural markets.

The aggregation comprised 4 properties with a total of approximately 624 hectares of well managed softwood plantation across a title area of 789 hectares included a 2- story, 3-bedroom brick house positioned only 3.75km’s from the coast near Seaspray.

Smith Agri International Director, David Smith highlighted that although these plantations ideally complement the existing plantation footprint throughout Victoria, they equally appealed to a wide range of opportunistic investors interested in cashing in on the standing timber value then converting the plantations to other forms of agricultural use following harvest. “In fact, the processing industry itself were an active participate throughout the sale process, understandably having a key stake in maintaining Gippsland’s important plantation footprint against mounting pressure from farmers seeking sizable quality land holdings and a growing number of timber exporters seeking mature resource” said Mr Smith. “Surrounding these sites is a range of agricultural pursuits including cattle grazing, cropping, irrigation and even market gardens, whilst given its close proximity to the coastal town of Seaspray and inland towns of Sale and Longford, the sites could have easily suited those interested in a more secluded lifestyle change”.

A representative of Jelfor Treated Timbers congradulated Smith Agri International on achieving a great result, confirming his belief that the market has recovered after some difficult years following the collapse of Managed Investment Scheme projects during 2008 to 2010. The successful buyer was a local company that saw the acquisition as a strategic one, wherein they could better compliment local processing industries.

For further information, please contact David Smith on 0418 332 780.

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About Smith Agri International Pty Ltd

Smith Agri International is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and is a boutique Transactions and Advisory firm specialising in Timberland and Agricultural representation throughout Australasia. With over 27 years’ experience in rural property assessment, planning and transactions, including; Forestry, Agriculture, Mining and Renewable Energy sectors, the Company is best placed to transparently assist clients to identify and unlock true asset value, either for divestment or investment throughout these key agribusiness sectors. Its global database includes over 4,000 active registered buyers including; Institutional Investors, Pension Funds, Family Offices, Emerging Funds, Sophisticated and Opportunistic Investors.

Please visit our website at www.smithagriinternational.com.au