21 INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2022 June saw the second Eucalyptus price reduction as well as an Acacia price reduction. At this time Member services also had to contend with a rail-service delivery failure at the Vryheid East depot causing wagon delays and log jams. The civil unrest in July severely curtailed Member services’ staff movements within the various districts. Shortly thereafter good news surfaced in the form of vastly increased Acacia demand and a procurement programme followed to ensure that all available Acacia made it to market, the dilemma being that the high demand had sparked close to the winter months, further endorsing that out of season supply is very real. Supplying into the out-of-season market demand was not made easy in the latter part of the year given events such as a widespread electrical outage across the port of Richards Bay in October 2021 that interrupted the loading of a Eucalyptus vessel, requiring again, a lot of background co-ordination and explanation. Re-imbursement of the Acacia and then the Eucalyptus price reduction amounts deducted earlier in the year were well-received. This was overshadowed with news of a massive fire on the sulphur conveyor at the Richards Bay port placing NCT wood chip loading and berth access in jeopardy. Much communication to the member base ensued with behind-thescenes volume planning to meet a revised and busy vessel line up. This period was also characterised by exceptionally regular and high rainfall events making timber accessibility challenging and requiring staff to call on members daily for updates of supply against slot bookings and allocations. The intensified market interest particularly in Acacia, the increased flow of timber and general economic malaise, attracted unwanted opportunists’ intent on capitalising on member timber illicitly. Our attention was drawn to several cases and investigations regarding chain-of-custody break, ownership disputes and community claims on timber. The calendar year ended on a high with the announcement of both an Acacia and Eucalyptus price increase which spurred on a much-needed timber flow at the right time. In May, the Zululand district office relocated from Richards Bay town to the Richards Bay Wood Chip facility where it is better placed from safety, access and timber environment perspectives. It certainly was a year of ups and downs. From a supply against GST perspective, Eucalyptus supply outpaced the supply fit achieved by Acacia. The two graphs overleaf illustrate the results achieved quite clearly. These dynamics led to a revision in the GST sliding scale to reward the conscientious suppliers of both genera as well as to slightly compensate the Acacia suppliers for the slower start to the market experienced. Acacia GST holders were awarded 100% premium against 81% to 120% of GST and Eucalyptus GST holders 100% of premium against 81% to 110% of GST. From feedback received, the member base appreciated this concession.
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