US Dollar Exchange Rates of 13th June. 2008
China Yuan 6.9020
Report from China
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MDF industry development shows rapid gains in capacity
The MDF industry has developed rapidly over the last
twenty years in China, making important contributions to
development of the national economy and improvement of
people¡¯s living standard. China¡¯s MDF industry began in
the 1970s, with outputs eventually increasing sharply in
the 1990s. Production of MDF increased from 0.7 million
m3 in 1996 to 2.2 million m3 in 2006, with an annual
growth rate of 41.3%.
There were 598 MDF production lines in the country by
the end of 2007, with a total annual productive capacity of
26.2 million m3. It is expected that 4.24 million m3 of
production capacity will be added in 2008 and another 3
million m3 will be added in 2009. Additionally, driven by
the rapid development of furniture, laminated flooring and
indoor decorative items, annual consumption of MDF
increased sharply from 0.98 million m3 in 1996 to 22.22
million m3 in 2006, with an average annual growth rate of
35.9%.
The number of MDF enterprises is very small in China.
The production capacity of MDF enterprises in China
varies from 10,000 m3 to 1 million m3. In 2007, there were
about 400 enterprises with an average production capacity
of 65,000 m3, which is far below that of the developed
countries. Privately owned and foreign enterprises account
for more than 75% of total MDF enterprises, with the
remainder being owned by the state. With the rapid
development of MDF industry in China, it is anticipated
that more foreign enterprises will enter the field.
Furniture enterprises boost export value by increasing added-value products
Exports of Chinese furniture have increased in value over
the last few years, primarily due to China¡¯s growing
emphasis on value-added products. According to statistics,
the export value of furniture in China amounted to USD
23.268 billion in 2007, up 34.95% from the same period of
2006. Furniture exports experienced such growth due to
the following reasons:
First, there has been a focus on manufacturing of exportoriented
products. The export value of seats and sofas
reached USD10.3 billion in 2007, accounting for 45% of
the total export value of furniture. Sofas have become the
most important furniture product in terms of outputs and
exports. Since the US established anti-dumping policies on
Chinese bedroom wood furniture, the increase in Chinese
wood furniture exports and its share in international
markets has gradually fallen. During the period 2003 to
2007, the increase in furniture exports was 36.5%, 29.6%,
26.6%, 23.4% and 15.3% per annum. The share of
Chinese wood furniture in international markets also
decreased during the period 2004 to 2007 to 52%, 49%,
33% and 29% respectively.
Second, furniture exports are mainly concentrated in 10
provinces (municipalities). In terms of value, the top ten
provinces (municipalities) which export furniture were
Guangdong (USD9.30 billion), Zhejiang (USD4.49
billion), Shanghai (USD2.89 billion), Jiangsu (USD1.91
billion), Fujian (USD1.35 billion), Shandong, Liaoning,
Xinjiang, Tianjin and Beijing. The export value of these
10 provinces make up 96.4% of the nation¡¯s total.
Furniture exports of Xinjiang Autonomous Region has
been growing especially fast, with exports reaching
USD480 million in 2007, up 17% over the same period in
2006. The main export destination for Xinjiang furniture is
Kazakhstan and other Eurasian countries.
Third, in 2007, value-added furniture products increased
29% in value without increasing export volume. Unit price
of furniture products have increased year on year. The unit
price of bedroom furniture was USD60.03/piece in 2007,
up 11.45% over the same period in 2006. Office furniture
was USD33.98/piece, up 11.74% over the same period in
2006. Rosewood furniture was USD100.8/piece, up
15.73% compared with 2006.
Fourth, the proportion of general trade has increased. The
export value of furniture reached USD16.15 billion in
2007, accounting for 62.97% of the total export value, up
52.2% over the same period of last year. At the same time,
the proportion of barter trade and trade of products
processed with materials supplied by customers reduced
gradually.
Wood flooring outputs rise 9.4%
According to statistics from the Wood Flooring
Commission of the Chinese Forest Products Association,
national outputs of wood flooring were 361 million m2 in
2007, up 9.4% from 2006. Among various types of
flooring, laminated flooring took a leading position, as its
output was 220 million m2 in 2007, making up 61% of the
total and rising 10% since 2006. The output of solid wood
flooring was 44 million m2 in the same year, accounting
for 12% of the total and slightly down from 2006 due to
lack of raw materials. The output of composite flooring
was 75 million m2 in 2007, amounting to 21% of the total
and rising 25% from 2006 levels. Due to increase of
material costs associated with the production of bamboo
flooring, the output of bamboo flooring decreased
considerably to 20 million m2 in 2007, accounting only for
5.5% of total flooring outputs.
Log imports through Suifenhe Port continue to grow
Suifenhe Port imported a total of 2.05 million m3 of logs
during the first quarter of 2008, valued at USD273 million,
up 16.7% and 53% over the same period of last year
respectively. The import value of logs has accounted for
65.3% of the total import value and up 4.5 percentage
points over 2007. Rising market demand is the main
reason for an increase in timber imports through the Port.
Russia¡¯s rising export tariffs for logs since 1 April 2008 is
another reason for the growth in imports from other
countries.
Exports of wood chip imports slow while imports rise
China had been one of the most important countries to
export woodchips. However, with the rapid development
of the domestic paper industry and the regulation of
resource policies, China has reduced woodchip exports
and increased its imports over the years. China exported
25,500 tons of woodchips valued at USD3.12 million at
first quarter of 2008, down 78.5% and 77.8% respectively
from the same period of last year. It imported 289,300 tons
of chips valued at USD45.87 million in this period, up
71.3% and 105.3% respectively.
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