The trees will be made into woodchips for the Japanese and Korean paper markets, and will be exported through Portland. The Port of Portland, which is owned by the infrastructure investor Infratil Australia, exported 1.1million tonnes of pine wood products in 1998-99, most of that woodchips and pine logs. Within 10 years the port could be handling three times that volume in hardwood products. The port's manager, Mr Jeremy Brown, said it was difficult to have confidence in some of the projected figures because the trees' yields and growth rates were not accurately known, nor the extent to which plantation crops would be recycled. That in turn will create jobs around the port - in wharf labor and transport.
Timber makes up about a third of the trade through the port.
Last financial year, timber products made up 1.15 million tonnes of the port's 3.49 million tonnes of trade, which consisted of 2.3 million tonnes in exports and 1.15 million in imports. Most of these commodities are stable, although grain can vary a lot depending on the quality of the harvest. The long-term average is 850,000 to 900,000 tonnes. The other potential area of business growth for the port is mineral sands. This is a burgeoning industry around Mildura and the Murray Basin.