US Dollar Exchange Rates of
25th
Feb
2022
China Yuan 6.3292
Report from China
Rise in house prices a relief for real estate companies
More mainland cities are trying to support the real estate
sector by easing the requirements on down payments and
mortgage financing to reverse the worst decline in home
sales in a decade which economists fear could threaten the
broader economy. Data from the China Real Estate
Information Corp shows the top 100 real estate developers
saw sales drop 40% year on year in January.
China¡¯s US$1.7 trillion housing market has begun to
unravel as the economy in the fourth quarter grew at the
slowest pace in 18 months.
A press release from China's National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS) suggests that house prices have started to recover, a
positive sign that a steep decline in the real estate sector is
beginning to be brought under control following the policy
adjustments in the fourth quarter of 2021.
See:
https://www.scmp.com/business/chinabusiness/article/3167946/chinas-housing-market-gets-lifelinescities-lenders-ease
GGSC-CN Index, January 2022
In January 202, China's PMI index registered 50.1%,
a decrease of 0.2% from the previous month but still in
the expansion range (i.e. above 50%) for 3 consecutive
months. Howeverthe triple pressure of shrinking demand,
supply shock and weakening business expectation still
exists.
In January wood product manufacturing remained stable;
new orders increased but foreign demand was relatively
sluggish. The output on the supply side remained stable
and the prices of the main raw materials fell for the third
consecutive month.
The GGSC-CN comprehensive index for January
registered 50.2 (42.9 for Jan. 2021 and 48.4% for Jan
2020) an increase of 2.7% from the previous month and
above the critical value of 50. See fig below.
Challenges
Pinus sylvestris log export was banned by Russia's export
which forced Chinese companies to change alternative
species.
The price of chemical raw materials increased sharply,
resulting in a significant increase in production costs.
It has become difficult to purchase base materials.
Wood resources are scarce and the supply chain has been
disrupted.
Products in short supply
Merbau, teak, base material, cumaru oak.
Commodity for which the price has increased
Teak, cumaru, oak, panels, sawnwood, leather, paint and
paraffin.
Commodity of which the price has been decreased
Taun £¬ fibreboard, cloth, glass, melamine, urea,
formaldehyde
As for the GGSC-CN index, in January 2022, two subindexes
increased while three declined. The production
index registered 50%, an increase of 12.5% from the
previous month and above 50% after three months.
The new order index registered 53.6%, a decline of 2.7%
from the previous month reflecting the ability of
enterprises to obtain orders is better than last month. The
new export order index reflecting international trade
registered 35.7%, an increase of 4.5% from the previous
month showing that orders from abroad in January
improved.
The main raw material inventory index registered
39.3%, a
decrease of 4.5% from the previous month.
The employment index registered 42.9%, a decrease
of 13.4% from the previous month. It shows that the
employment of the forest products enterprises is less than
that of last month.
The supplier delivery time index was 60.7% an increase
of 23.2% from the previous month indicating the delivery
time for raw materials has improved.
Log imports
In the report on China¡¯s log imports published in the 1-15
February ITTO Market Report there were several
anomalies. Some were related to the data from China
Customs which shows temperate species HS codes
assigned to timbers from tropical countries. This would
only be possible if the countries in question trans-shipped
imported temperate species to China. It has been
determined that, for the countries involved, this was not
the case.
A revised report on China¡¯s log imports will be published
at a later date.
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