ECUADOR – In 2015 Ecuador’s MDF imports totaled USD 12.2 million, down 29.1% against 2014 imports that reached USD 17.2 million.

The three main foreign suppliers of MDF to Ecuador in 2015 were: Chilean Masisa, with a share of the import market of 25.7%; Colombian Tablemac with 24.6% share and Chile’s Arauco Panels, with a 17.9% market participation.

In 2015 Masisa exported to the Ecuadorian market USD 3.1 million. The previous year shipments reached USD 6.1 million. This sharp decline (-48.6%) generated a loss of 9.8 p.p. of total imports. It is important to note that some of this drop was recovered by Masisa through its subsidiary Fibranova of Venezuela which in 2015 entered the Ecuadorian MDF market with exports amounting USD 639,000 and reaching a 5.2% market share.

Colombia’s Tablemac remained the second largest MDF international supplier with exports to Ecuador for USD 3.0 million, recording a sharp drop compared to 2014 (-27.1%). Tablemac is a subsidiary of Brazil’s Duratex Group, a manufacturer that also participated in Ecuador’s MDF market. Duratex, with shipments in 2015 for USD 743,000 and a 6.1% market share, gained 5 percentage points of market participation against its share of 2014 (1.1%).

The third main supplying company of imported MDF to Ecuador, Chile’s Arauco Panels, made shipments amounting USD 2.2 million, down 17.4% from USD 2.6 million in 2014. 

Ecuador MDF/HDF Imports*

January – December. USD-FOB