NZ Herald | 1 February 2026 Ikea owner Ingka plans to double NZ forestry land to 100,000ha
by Tom Raynel
The investment arm of Ikea’s parent company plans to more than double its ownership of New Zealand forestry to 100,000ha.
But the company is stressing that it intends to be a long-term investor that wants to “employ locals and be part of communities” as it grows its holding across the country.
Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ikea parent Ingka Group, has slowly built up an extensive portfolio of forestry investments in New Zealand, first entering the market back in 2021 as the country’s first Ikea store was being built.
Since that initial investment, the company’s land ownership has grown to approximately 43,000ha at a value of roughly $648 million, the fifth largest land ownership by country in the company’s worldwide business.
The global company has been purchasing forests for roughly nine years, amassing a portfolio of over 500,000ha.
Its largest forestry holding is in Latvia with roughly 230,000ha, followed by the United States with 75,000ha, Estonia with 61,000ha, Romania with 51,000ha, and then New Zealand.
Ingka also has a small holding in Finland of roughly 9000ha.
Ingka’s team has already purchased forests in Southland, Otago, Nelson, Hawke’s Bay, Bay of Plenty and Northland.
But, as Ingka Investments Forestland country manager for New Zealand Kelvin Meredith explained, the company has its sights set further.
“A nice round number was 100,000 hectares, but we may not get there or we may exceed that. Strategically we’ve got to have a number out there,” Meredith said.
“There’s still a desire from the Ingka Group to keep investing in forestry, because it’s a good investment. While the cash returns are steady, it’s the increase in value in the asset that makes it worth owning.”
Meredith said there was no set deadline for when the group wanted to reach the milestone, and that sometimes the process is more opportunistic, especially in instances where large estates come on to the market.
He said the company’s holding here had grown quite rapidly.
“When Ingka first came to New Zealand they were looking at afforestation, so buying up farmland to start a forest because it was seen as the right thing to do. Coincidentally, it really coincided with the big carbon planting boom, but that was never really on the radar to plant for carbon.
“It was a pure timber play, but we’ve obviously been swept along in the whole carbon narrative, with farmland being converted to pine trees. We try not to buy the best farmland, we try to keep it. And if we do end up with some really good farmland, we try and subdivide and sell that off.”
Meredith said Ingka had registered in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to preserve the value, but that the company wasn’t sure what it planned to do with the carbon credits it had amassed.
He stressed that the company did not want to be seen as carbon traders, noting that it “doesn’t need the cash for business”, nor desired to be associated with carbon income.
“In the future, we may look at doing something like selling off credits to fund biodiversity projects for example. There’s a lot of internal discussions going on, but at the moment we’re continuing to register because it is a government-verified carbon source.”
Ingka’s team in New Zealand is showing no signs of slowing down despite resistance from local communities.
Like most foreign purchases of large blocks of land, Ingka’s acquisitions require government approval, but they don’t need approval by the communities themselves.
That is despite the fears of those in communities like Hawke’s Bay, who continue to worry about the fire risk from pine plantations, especially after a fire ripped through 250ha of forest in Pōrangahau late last year.
Meredith said solutions like fire insurance were prohibitively expensive, and that continued defunding of the Department of Conservation had eroded its ability to support prevention as well.
“We would support any change that would benefit fighting fires, but it has to be equitable across all landowners, not just forest owners. It needs to be practical, andit have a practical outcome, because no one wants lives in danger.”
Other concerns from communities stem from Ingka’s strategy of afforestation.
Since 2021, Ingka has afforested approximately 15,000ha of previously cleared pastoral land it says is “unsuitable for agriculture”.
Meredith said the company was strategically shifting away from just buying farmland, acknowledging the controversy it brought.
“We want to buy existing forests where possible, and ideally with no carbon attached to them. So those forests that have been harvested, replanted and are just sitting there quietly growing, that’s the perfect investment for us.
“We don’t need to be in the news for the wrong reasons, but if a good deal comes up on marginal farmland that suits forestry, and isn’t going to be that destructive to the farming or beef-growing community, then we’ll have a look at it.”
Meredith said he was always “a bit stunned” with some of the rhetoric that comes via social media and farming weekly papers, but reiterated that the company is here for the long haul.
“Once we’re in a community, we’re established there. Our managers are all locals. Once we actually sit down with members of the community and explain who we are, we tend to get much more support.
“It’s just a matter of telling our story. This is what we’re doing, if you’ve got any concerns, we’ve got nothing to hide.”
