BRAZIL - The data published by IBA (Industria Brasileira de Árvores) for the first four months of the year confirms the sustained recovery of the Brazilian wooden board industry, mainly driven by exports.

In the period from January to April, Brazilian wood panel manufacturers obtained a growth of 10.6% in the exported volume, reaching 416 thousand m3 (January - April 2017: 376 thousand m3). In value, board exports grew 15.1%, reaching USD 99 million in the period (2017: USD 86 million).

Latin America was the main regional export market for Brazilian wooden panels with USD 55 million (2017: 48 million), followed by North America with USD 22 million (2017: 20 million).

The volume marketed in the Brazilian domestic market in the first four months of the year, reached 2.17 million m3, an increase of 5.5% compared to the same period of 2017 (2.06 million m3).

In April 2018, according to the monthly report of IBA, domestic sales and consumption of wooden panels in Brazil reached 537 thousand m3, an increase of 13.5% compared to April 2017 (473 thousand m3).