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China Wood Products Price and Market Reports
01 – 15th Aug
2023


US Dollar Exchange Rates of  10th  Aug 2023
China Yuan
7.24
Report from China
 

 Making property buying easier
Home sales in China continue to fall despite efforts by the government to reverse this trend. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has announced plans to make it easier for people to buy property, a shift away from its crackdown on real estate speculation.

The measures proposed include easing restrictions on second home purchases and reducing down payments for first-time homebuyers. But home prices continue to drop and with prohibitively high interest rates the sector is facing serious challenges.

Two years after Evergrande's default triggered chaos in global markets another developer, Country Garden, appears on the brink of a crisis.

Country Garden, which has developments in almost every province in China, is the latest developer to be struggling against high interest rates falling home prices and government the restrictions that are now under review. It has been reported that Country Garden, the country's biggest private-sector developer by sales, missed interest payments on two US-dollar-denominated bonds.

A Bloomberg analyst, wrote: "any default would impact China's housing market more than Evergrande's collapse as Country Garden has four times as many projects."

Another decline in log imports
According to China Customs, log imports totalled 20.31 million cubic metres valued at US$3.566 billion in the first half of 2023, down 9% in volume and 22% in value over the same period of 2022. The average price for imported logs was US$176 (CIF) per cubic metre, down 10% from the same period of 2022.

Of total log imports, softwood log imports fell 2% to 14.87 million cubic metres, accounting for 73% of the national total, up 5% from the same period of 2022. The average price for imported softwood logs declined 10% to US$145 (CIF) per cubic metre over the same period of 2022.


 Sharp decline in log imports from Russia
China's log imports from Russia fell by 32% to 960,000 cubic metres in the first half of 2023. There are two main reasons for the decline. Firstly, over the past two years the timber trade between China and Russia has been greatly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Secondly, Russia increased the export tax rate on logs which has put a lot of pressure on Chinese enterprises resulting in a sharp decline in log imports from Russia. Also, China’s log imports from Germany and PNG dropped 27% and 7% respectively in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2022.

The decline in log supplies from the three major suppliers, Germany, PNG and directly resulted in the decrease in the total national imports in the first half of 2023. However, China’s log imports from Poland surged over 300% to 670,000 cubic metere in the first half of 2023.

The forests of Poland were affected by severe storms in 2017. Nearly 10 million cubic metres of logs were windblown and much of this has been harvested and exported to China. China’s log imports from Poland have been increasing since 2017. China’s log imports from Poland in 2018 surged over 700%.

Decline in hardwood log imports in the first half of 2023
Hardwood log imports dropped 25% to 5.43 million cubic metres in the first half of 2023 and accounted for 27% of total log imports. The average price for imported hardwood logs fell 8% to US$260 (CIF) per cubic metre over the same period of 2022.

Of total hardwood log imports, tropical log imports were 2.95 million cubic metres valued at US$761 million CIF, down 28% in volume and 35% in value from the same period of 2022 and accounted for 15% of total first half 2023 log imports, down 2% over the same period of 2022. The average price for imported tropical logs was US$258 CIF per cubic metre, down 9% from the same period of 2022.

Before its log export ban, Myanmar was a major source of tropical logs for China. However, China’s log imports from Myanmar have been decreasing for many years. China’s log imports from Myanmar fell 38% to 2,267 cubic metres in volume and 44% in value to US$2.47 million in the first half of 2023. The average price for imported logs from Myanmar declined 9% to US$1,090 (CIF) per cubic metre in the first half of 2023.

Imports from Australia resume
Few logs were imported from Australia in the first half of 2023 but China resumed importing Australian timber from 18 May 2023.

China imported just 6,091cubic metres of sawnwood from Australia in the first half of 2023 valued at US$3.99 million, up 39% in volume and 42% in value over the same period of 2023.

China’s log imports from Australia virtually stopped because of a ban by the quarantine service which said it detected pests. Since the beginning of 2020 the quarantine service has repeatedly detected live pests such as the long horn beetle, Cerambycidae and jewel beetles, Buprestidae in logs imported from Australia.

Decline in tropical log imports
China’s tropical log imports fell 28% to 2.95 million cubic metres in the first half of 2023. China imported tropical logs mainly from Papua New Guinea (42%), Solomon Islands (26%), the Republic of Congo (9%) and Cameroon (7%). Just 4 countries supplied 84% of China’s tropical log requirements in the first half of 2023.

The reduction in tropical log imports from the largest supplier, PNG, resulted in the overall decline in tropical log imports in the first half of 2023.

China’s tropical log imports from the fourth largest suppliers, Cameroon, fell 7% to 211,000 cubic metres. China’s tropical log imports from Honduras surged in the first half of 2023. However, China’s tropical log imports from the DRC, Mozambique and Equatorial Guinea declined 50%, 68% and 84% respectively.

Invitation - Global Legal and Sustainable Timber Forum 2023
The first Global Legal and Sustainable Timber Forum (GLSTF) will be held in Macau 21–22 November 2023. The Forum aims to increase networking, collaboration and business exchange among timber industry stakeholders, producers, buyers, processors and market players in China and around the world.

The theme of the first GLSTF (2023) is ‘Connect, Cooperate and Share to Promote the Recovery of the Global Tropical Timber Market’. The Forum will be co-hosted by ITTO and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and is being organised by the Secretariat of the Global Green Supply Chain Initiative (GGSC).

Selected speakers and panelists and a limited number of participants from tropical timber supply countries will be sponsored. The organisers have arranged for simultaneous interpretation in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.

The First Announcement with details, venue and contact points can be found at: https://www.itto.int/events/2023/11/22/lobal_legal_sustainable_timber_forum_glstf_2023/


Abbreviations

LM        Loyale Merchant, a grade of log parcel  Cu.m         Cubic Metre
QS         Qualite Superieure    Koku         0.278 Cu.m or 120BF
CI          Choix Industriel                                                       FFR            French Franc
CE         Choix Economique                                                        SQ              Sawmill Quality
CS         Choix Supplimentaire      SSQ            Select Sawmill Quality
FOB      Free-on-Board     FAS            Sawnwood Grade First and
KD        Kiln Dry                               Second 
AD        Air Dry        WBP           Water and Boil Proof
Boule    A Log Sawn Through and Through MR              Moisture Resistant
              the boards from one log are bundled                      pc         per piece      
              together                      ea                each      
BB/CC  Grade B faced and Grade C backed MBF           1000 Board Feet          
              Plywood   MDF           Medium Density Fibreboard
BF         Board Foot F.CFA         CFA Franc        
Sq.Ft     Square Foot               Price has moved up or down

Source:ITTO'  Tropical Timber Market Report

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