International forestry news

[jim king]

I dont know of this has any interest to anyone or not but I thought I would post a few items that realate to topics of discussion in the last few weeks.

US hardwood lumber exports to SE Asia booming
Total exports of US hardwood products to Southeast Asia
moved ahead of the global trend (up 6.9%) in 2006,
11 ITTO TTM Report 12:7 1-15 April 2007
increasing 13% to $159 million, according to the
American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC). Lumber
exports amounted to $110 million, up 32% from 2005 and
accounted for 69% of the total US hardwood product
exports to the region. In contrast, log exports fell 25% and
accounted for less than 20% of the total value, whereas ten
years ago logs were exactly half the value of lumber
shipments. All markets in Southeast Asia, with the
exception of Singapore, now import more than half their
value of US hardwood imports as sawn lumber. Veneer
shipments increased almost 15% and accounted for 9.6%
of total value. Together lumber and veneer accounted for
almost 79% of the market value of US hardwood exports
in this region.

US manufacturers dominate Chinese furniture exports
Many US furniture manufacturing companies have
transferred their production bases to other countries.
According to some statistics, 43.1% of furniture sold in the
US market was made abroad in 2006 and 60% of the
furniture exported from China to the USA in 2005 was
manufactured by US companies based in China. Most of
the US furniture companies in China are large and have
manufacturing bases in Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu
Province, Guangdong Province, Zhejiang Province and
Chongqing Municipality. Analysts predict that the output
capacity of US furniture companies in China will reach
$10 billion in the next few years.


Timber shortages restrain expansion of panel industry
China's wood-based panel industry has been growing at a
double digit rates in recent years in tandem with its
economy. The country's total output of wood-based panels
reached 63.94 million m3 in 2005 and is predicted to be
around 80 million m3 by the end of the Eleventh Five-year
Plan in 2010. However, the industry's expansion is being
constrained by raw material shortages. China's timber
production from state-owned forests has fallen to about 55
million m3 since the implementation of Natural Forest
Protection Programme (NFPP). Most domestic timber is of
small diameter and not suitable for plywood face and
back. It is not used for fiberboard and particle board due to
its higher prices. Branches and processing residues are not
widely used by wood-based panel enterprises due to
higher transportation costs.
Imported timber with larger diameter and good quality is
suitable for plywood face and back. However, import
prices have been increasing due to log export restrictions
in producer countries. Local experts have recommended
wood-based panel companies to establish raw materials
forest bases, use substitution products (such as shrubs,
bamboo and crop stalks) and recycle waste wood.


Korean group to build Congo railway in timber deal
A South Korean consortium has agreed to build a new
800-km railway in the Republic of Congo in return for
timber concessions, Gabriel Valere Aime Eteka, Cabinet
Director at the Forestry Ministry, said. Timber is Congo's
second biggest export after oil, accounting for 7% of the
GDP. A number of European and Asian companies hold
concessions to cut valuable hardwoods from large tracts of
tropical forest.
However, the densely forested north of the country is
largely inaccessible, forcing its timber to be transported by
road for export from neighbouring Cameroon rather than
from Congo's own port of Pointe-Noire, costing the
Congolese treasury an estimated 25 billion CFA francs
(€38 million) a year in lost earnings. The Korean Resource
Consortium has agreed to build a railway from Brazzaville
to Ouesso in the Sangha region in the northwest of the
country, and, in return, the government will grant it
forestry concessions, according to Mr. Eteka. The
company would conduct a two-year feasibility study
before signing a final agreement with the Congolese
government and starting construction work on the railway,
which would be used to transport timber from the new
concessions, Mr. Eteka said. He added that the forestry
concessions granted to the consortium were valid for 15-
30 years.

[DanG]

Definitely interesting, Jim.  Thanks for posting.

[SwampDonkey]

Thanks for posting this Jim. Good to get information from abroad.