Ms. Shen Wei, Dupty Secretary at China Timber & Wood Products Distribution Association. [email protected]
About CTWPDA. Being one industry association, with about 3000 members, including wood importers, wood-based panel factories, wood flooring and wood door manufacturers. China Wood Importers Committee was established in 2012 in our association.
Ms. Shen Wei disclosed more Chinese timber market, what happens there and what should we expect in the future. In her report we saw a structure of Chinese timber supply & consumption. Imported timber and wood products accounts for more than 50% of total supply. Construction and paper are the two largest sectors of timber consumption. Chinese total wood consumption will keep slowly increasing, and mainly steady in the future. Imported logs and lumber are the main species trading in market. Softwood accounts for 70% of the total importation, and hardwood accounts for 30%. Main markets of raw material are Russia, Canada, Ukraine, Finland and Germany. Current Situation & Trends tells us about that imported timber storage is returning, and downstream factories are losing money. Supply side reforming is accelerating in China, a lot of small timber processing factories are closing and large companies will emerge in China. China-Europe freight train continues to change imported timber distribution, and it brings the area of delivering timbers with train within China. Due to Russian log ban and impossibility to import from Australia will make China to import more lumber in the future. Chinese timber demand is expected to main a slight increasing (within 5% every year) in the next 5 years, so the same trend for softwood.
Positive factors to advance timber application
- The infrastructure and housing market is booming in the central and west area of China, and the local market also pay attention to imported timbers.
- Rural revitalisation and land reform will bring new housing building opportunity.
- Consumption upgrade and environmental awareness rising, Chinese people will prefer wood products.
- Currently, Chinese per capita timber consumption is 0.4 m3, and there is still space comparing with global level 0.7 m3.
Negative factors
- Too strict housing control policies will impact timber consumption.
