CHINA - In the first quarter of 2020, China’s plywood exports were 1.85 million cubic meters valued at USD 787.6 million, a drop of 85 percent and 82 percent respectively over the same period in 2019, reported ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization).

The main markets for plywood exports in the first quarter were the Philippines (131,000 m3), United Kingdom (129,000 m3), Japan (125,000 m3), UAE (111,000 m3), Vietnam (105,000 m3) and Saudi Arabia (104,000 m3) all of which were significantly down year on year.

Regarding wooden furniture exports, China’s customs data is showing that in the first quarter of 2020, the value fell 84 percent year on year to USD 3.1 billion.

The main markets were the U.S. (USD 882 million), Japan (USD 254 million), UK (USD 211 million), Australia (USD 188 million), South Korea (USD 150 million) and Canada (USD 119 million) all dropping around 80% compared to the first quarter 2019.

First quarter plywood Chinese imports were 35,068 m3 valued at USD 26.85 million, a decline of around 80 percent in both volume and value. Over 70 percent of China’s plywood imports are from five countries, Russia (16,002 m3), Indonesia (4,886 m3), Malaysia (3,368 m3), Vietnam (1,547 m3) and Japan (1,290 m3).

China imports small amounts of furniture which, in the first quarter 2020, were worth USD 203 million, down 80 percent year on year.