ECUADOR - The value of Ecuador's particleboard exports (PB/MDP) reached USD 52.70 million in the first quarter of 2023 (1Q-2023).

This represented a 7.1 percent drop compared to the previous year (1Q-2023: USD 56.75 million). 

Export performance in 1Q-2023 was led by the region's main PB/MDP exporter, Ecuador's Novopan, whose exports fell 7.2 percent to USD 52.05 million, representing 98.8 percent of total exports in the first quarter of the year.

The main foreign market for Ecuadorian agglomerate was again Colombia. In 1Q-2023, Ecuadorian chipboard worth USD29.43 million was shipped to the Colombian market, representing a sharp drop of 12.9 percent compared to the previous year (1Q-2022: USD33.79 million).

Peru, the second most important foreign market for the Ecuadorian agglomerate in 1Q-2023, made purchases worth USD 19.42 million, an increase of 9.1% compared to 1Q-2022 (USD 17.79 million). Peru together with Colombia accounted for 92.7% of the value of Ecuador's particleboard exports in 1Q-2023 (1Q-2022: 90.9%).

While Colombia has two local particleboard manufacturers, there is no domestic production in Peru.