COLOMBIA - In the first two months of the year, imports of particleboard (PB)/ MDP by Colombia reached USD 17,326,366. This value amounts to a 30.5 percent growth compared to the values recorded in the same period of 2018.

Responsible for more than 50 percent of the imported value was Madecentro, which made purchases abroad of PB / MDP for close to USD 9.5 million in the January-February 2019 period. Over a million dollars more than what it imported in same period of the previous year (2018: USD 8'342,528) for a year-on-year growth of 13.7 percent.

Second in the list of importing companies is Duratex Colombia, with imports of particleboard in the first two months of 2019 for USD 2.3 million and standing out as the fastest growing importer, + 209.5 percent, in the period.

As a supplier company, Novopan del Ecuador continues to be the absolute leader of the particleboard / MDP shipments to Colombia, with more than USD 11 million in the first two months of 2019. This performance also places Ecuador as the main supplier country, followed by Brazil through Duratex and Berneck; by Chile with Arauco and Masisa and by Spain that appears for the first time in a significant way with Tableros Hispanos.

If this trend continues throughout the year, Colombia could surpass the USD 100 million mark of imports of PB/MDP in 2019. This performance can be explained in part by the void left by the Colombian PB / MDP manufacturer Pizano S.A. that declared bankruptcy in February 2018.