Nov 11, 2008. /Lesprom.com/. The value of Australian woodchip exports has passed $1 billion for the first time, underpinning a 5% growth in the total value of Australian forest product exports, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The latest report on the forestry sector by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) says sales of plantation chips from Tasmania and Western Australia have seen the value of sales grow by 13% in 2007-08. ABARE forestry economist Kevin Burns says sales of many forestry products struggled due to the high dollar, but woodchips went against that trend. "There were some quite significant price increases as well, so hardwood woodchips increased by about 8% in price, and that reflects a substitution away from native forest woodchips, which tend to be lower value."