REGION – In the first half of 2018 (1H-2018) Ecuador and Colombia led the South American particleboard / MDP trade. The first, as the largest exporting country with shipments for USD 58.1 million, and the second as the largest destination market with imports of USD 47.7 million.

The second largest particleboard / MDP exporter of South American in the-1S-2018 was Brazil with USD 39.3 million, followed closely by Chile (USD 38.1 million). Among the main exporting countries, Ecuador showed the highest growth (23.7%) followed by Brazil (10.3%) and Chile (3.2%).

The sharp drop, -76.9%, in Colombian particleboard / MDP exports is noteworthy. Colombian particleboard exports went from USD 9.2 million in the 1H-2017 to USD 2.1 million in the same period of 2018. This can be explained by panel manufacturer Pizano’s market exit early this year.

Regarding imports, the second largest importing country after Colombia was Peru with USD 46.2 million. Followed by Ecuador (USD 7.6 million) and Bolivia (USD 7.2 million).

When compared against the same period of the previous year, growth of particleboard imports was substantial in Ecuador (+ 123.1%), Argentina (+ 37.7%) and Peru (+ 24.4%).

Ecuador also presents the best performance in its trade balance, with a surplus of USD 50.4 million. On the other hand, Peru and Colombia presented the largest trade deficits in 1H-2018 with USD 46.1 million and USD 45.6 respectively.