BRAZIL - As reported by IBA (Brazilian Tree Industry), in the second quarter of 2023 (2Q-2023) the consumption of wood-based panels (PB/MDP, MDF/HDF and Hardboard) in Brazil reached 1.72 million m3, a slight drop of 1.4 percent compared to the 1.74 million m3 reached in 2Q-2022.

Brazilian wood-based panel export values in first six months 2023 (6M-2023) reached USD 144.8 million , representing a sharp drop of 47.9 percent compared to USD 277.9 million exported in 6M-2022 by Brazilian wood-based panel manufacturers.

Latin America was again the main regional export market for Brazilian panels in 6M-2023, with USD 80.4 million (6M-2022: USD 126.0 million), which represented a drop of 36.2 percent. The North American market, which suffered a heartfelt drop of 68.7 percent, followed in importance with USD 33.5 million (6M-2022: USD 107.1 million).

In 6M-2023, the volumes exported by Brazilian wood panel manufacturers presented a drop of 42.0 percent with 499 thousand m3 compared to the 861 thousand m3 exported in 6M-2022.