China's Timber Imports Exceeded US $3 Billion in The First Quarter

According to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter of 2024, China's total wood imports exceeded 3 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 3.05%, and an increase of 4.2% compared with the fourth quarter of 2023; Total imports reached 15.56 million cubic meters, down 1.47 percent year-on-year and lower than market expectations.

Imports fell 3.78% to 5.07 million cubic meters in January, while trade volume fell 5.12% to $999 million.

In February, imports fell 6.33% to 4.46 million cubic meters, and trade volume fell 8.06% to $911 million.

Imports rose 4.7 percent to 6.01 million cubic meters in March, while trade fell 2.83 percent to $1.254 billion.

In the first quarter, the total volume of log imports reached 8.85 million cubic meters, accounting for 56.88% of wood imports in the first quarter, down 4.52% compared with imports in the same period in 2023; Trade volume reached 1.5 billion yuan, down 6.44 percent year-on-year. The average import unit price is 170 US dollars per cubic meter ( The average import unit price does not involve other costs such as freight, the specific price is subject to the market).

It is worth noting that the volume of logs arriving in March increased significantly, by 7.9% compared to the same period in 2023 and by 36.69% compared to February 2024.

Increased imports of logs include eucalyptus, Douglas fir with a minimum section size of less than 15 cm, radiata pine, birch, and oak and heteropterus logs. Compared with large-diameter logs, domestic imports of small-diameter logs have increased dramatically in recent years, perhaps because log producing countries harvest logs in advance due to multiple effects such as weather, wildfires and pests, resulting in increased exports.

The furniture industry, as a major demand side for wood, has good news in the first quarter of exports. It is understood that from January to March 2024, the national exports of furniture and its parts were 124.14 billion yuan, an increase of 23.5% over the same period last year (100.52 billion yuan). Despite the adverse factors such as geopolitical tensions and trade protectionism still exist, the recovery of the furniture export market will undoubtedly strengthen the domestic wood imports, which are expected to continue to improve in the second quarter.

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