ECUADOR – Ecuador’s particleboard and medium-density particleboard (MDP) exports experienced a notable decline in the first two months of 2025, falling by 9.1% compared to the same period in 2024.

Total export revenues reached USD 30.97 million between January and February 2025, down from USD 34.08 million the previous year.

The decrease was primarily driven by a sharp drop in shipments to Colombia, the country’s largest market, which contracted by 28.9%, from USD 19.18 million in early 2024 to USD 13.65 million in 2025.

Panama also recorded a significant decline in imports, falling by 26.3%, while the United States posted a more moderate drop of 3.6%. These reductions contributed substantially to the overall downturn in export performance.

Despite the general decline, several destination countries showed strong growth, signaling shifts in demand across the region. Peru emerged as a resilient market, increasing its imports by 16.6% to reach USD 13.47 million. This positioned it just behind Colombia, narrowing the gap between Ecuador’s top two markets.

Mexico also showed positive momentum with a 19.9% increase in imports, totaling USD 818,764, while the Dominican Republic nearly doubled its imports, recording an impressive 90.8% increase to USD 611,003.