BRAZIL - According to IBÁ (Brazilian Tree Industry) report, in the third quarter of 2020 (3Q-2020) the consumption of wooden panels (Particleboard, MDF and Hardboard) in Brazil reached 2.18 million m3, an improvement of 21.5 percent compared to the 1.80 million m3 reached in 3Q-2019.

In 3Q-2020, consolidated sales in the domestic market of Brazil reached 2.18 million m3, an improvement of 21.4 percent compared to the same period of 2019 (3Q-2019: 1.79 million m3).

The export values of Brazilian wood panels in the first 9 months of 2020 (9M-2020) reached USD 196 million, a slight contraction of 3.0 percent compared to the USD 202 million exported in the same period of the previous year.

Latin America was the main regional export market for Brazilian wood panels in 9M-2020, with USD 95 million (9M-2019: USD 129 million), which represented a sharp drop of 26.4 percent. The North American market continued in importance with USD 64 million, a good increase of 28.0 percent compared to the same period of 2019 (9M-2019; USD 50 million). China was the fastest growing market for Brazilian wood panel exports, rising from USD 7 million in 9M-2019 to USD 17 million in 9M-2020, an increase of 142.9%.

In 9M-2020, the volumes exported by Brazilian wood panel manufacturers showed an improvement of 4.7 percent to 911 thousand m3 compared to 870 thousand m3 exported in 9M-2019.

IBÁ is the association in Brazil that brings together the productive chain of planted trees for industrial purposes. The Association is led by Paulo Hartung, who assumed the executive presidency of the entity in March 2019.