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US
Dollar Exchange Rates of 15th Dec. 2007
China Yuan
7.242
Report from China
China sees rapid development of bamboo and rattan industries
China currently has more than five hundred species and a forest area of 4.84 million hectares of
bamboo forest area, accounting for one-fifth of the world¡¯s total area of
bamboo. In recent years, the bamboo and rattan industry has developed rapidly and an integrated industrial system
combining resource cultivation, processing of products, research and development and
international trade has been gradually formed. Bamboo and rattan are used in various
housing components. Statistics show that the output value of bamboo and rattan in China was RMB66
billion yuan in 2006, with export value being USD1.1 billion. The total volume of bamboo flooring
and bamboo plywood was 6.12 million m2 and 6.27 million m2 respectively in the
same year.
Wooden furniture trade grows 10.5% in the first three quarters of 2007
According to data from the China Customs Agency, imports and exports of wooden furniture
achieved sound results in the first three quarters of 2007. The total export
volume of wooden furniture was 139.28 million pieces during this period, up 10.5% over the same period last
year. Total export value was USD4.78 billion, up 15.5% over 2006 and rising 4.51% over the same
period last year. Among the total exported wooden furniture, kitchen furniture amounted to 13.08 million pieces, up 28.1% over
the same period last year. The total import volume was 1.41 million pieces during the first three quarters of 2007,
up 82.5% over the same period of last year, while the import value reached USD110.19 million, up 62.9% over
the last year. The average unit price was USD78.25 per piece, down 10.8% from the same period of last year.
During the same period, China imported 35,000 pieces of rosewood furniture, up 151.8% over
the same period last year. The import value during the first three quarters of
2007 was USD6.13 million, up 206.8% over the same period last year and the unit price of the imported furniture
was USD175.00 per piece, 21.8% higher compared to the same period in 2006. In 2006, 96.2
thousand pieces of rosewood furniture were exported, 17.4% lower from the same period in
2006. The exported value decreased by 6.7% to USD9.07 million but the average unit price was
USD98.26, up 12.96% from 2006.
It is likely that the situation had been brought about by the reduced tax refund rate (where the
State readjusted tax refunds down 2% twice between the end of 2006 and June
2007), causing the slowing of exports; the marginal difference of unit price between imports and exports; zero
taxes levied on imported wooden furniture, since the government encouraged importation of
resources; and the policy that prohibits exports of rosewood manufactured with domestic
resources.
China¡¯s wooden door exports expand at a lower rate
According to China Wood Monthly, China¡¯s exports of wooden doors has grown rapidly at the
speed of over 30% annual both in volume and value since 2003. However, the
rate of growth has slowed in 2007. According to statistics from customs officials, the export volume of wooden
doors reached 284.8 thousand tons and export value was USD465 million, up only 9.59% and
15.39% over the same period in 2006, respectively. On the other hand, exports greatly
exceeded imports, presenting a favorable balance of trade. The average unit value of exported
wooden doors was considerably less than that of exports, with the price difference per ton being over USD700.
Timber imports through Erlianhot continue to increase steadily
Since early 2007, imports of timber in Erlianhot Port of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have increased
considerably, reported China Wood Monthly. The growth rate of imports by volume
reached 2.89 million m3 and USD317.79 million in value, up 13.8% and 33.8% over
the same period of 2006 respectively. Of the total timber imports, the import of logs by volume was 2.57
million m3 and valued at USD272.34 million, up 11.2% and 31.1% over the same period of 2006
respectively. Lumber imports by volume increased 318,000 m3 and worth USD45.45 million, up
40.5% and 52.2% over the same period of 2006.
Exports of Chinese furniture reach US$17 billion in 2007
According to Mr. Chen Guoguang, Vice Director of the Chinese Furniture Association, the total
export value of furniture in China reached USD17 billion during the period of January to October
2007 and was expected to exceed USD20 billion by the end of 2007. Five manufacturing areas
for furniture have now been formed in the northeast, north, east, south and west of China. The
export-oriented enterprises are concentrated along the coast of eastern China and the
enterprises in the western part are mainly serving the domestic markets. A large
proportion of furniture production and export comes from the south (mainly Guangdong Province) and the east
mainly Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces).
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