Japan Wood Products Prices

1-15th March 2006

Japan Wood Products Prices

Dollar Exchange Rates of  8th March  2006

Japan Yen 117.85

Report From Japan 

Slump in tropical log imports dragged on in 2005
Japanese imports of tropical logs totalled 1,367,700 m3 in 2005, down 18% from 2004 and 35% from 2002. Around 78% of the imports originated from Malaysia, notably Sarawak. Japanese imports from Malaysia and PNG, in particular, have declined substantially as other markets such as India and China, are willing to pay higher prices for increasingly scarce logs while Malaysia continues to allocate logs for domestic further processing.  

BoJ scraps ultra-loose policy but keeps rates low 
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) ended its five-year-old ultra-loose monetary policy as the nation overcomes years of deflation and the economy continues to recover steadily. The BoJ’s decision to halt injection of money into the financial system comes after the third consecutive rise in year-on-year price levels for the core consumer price index (CPI) in January. The CPI
stopped falling last October. However, the BoJ pledged to anchor short-term interest rates near zero to ease fears that they may put a damper on the economy by raising the cost of housing loans and other borrowing. 

More information on Japan in www.n-mokuzai.com 　

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  Plywood grades. Letter(s) on the left indicate face veneer(s), those on the right backing veneer(s). Veneer grade decreases in order B, BB, C, CC, etc.	MBF           1000 Board Feet
Plywood	MDF           Medium Density Fibreboard
BF         Board Foot	F.CFA         CFA Franc
Sq.Ft     Square Foot	PHND             Pin hole no defect grade
Hoppus ton     1.8 cubic metres	Price has moved up or down

Source: ITTO'  Tropical Timber Market Report