mtib news extract - mwmjc

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MTIB News Extracts (Vol. 07/04/21)

MTIB News Extract Vol. 07/04/2021

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This twice monthly information service provided by MTIB represents one of our efforts to provide the timber industry regularly updated business information on forestry and timber and the trading environment. This enables quick reading of trends, developments and business opportunities to be identified. Since its launching, the service is well received and I thank you for your continued support especially your comments and suggestions. We will continue to upgrade the quality of the news items for the interest and benefit of the industry and hope your association’s members will continue to benefit from it. Please communicate with us regularly so that we can improve the information flow based on your feedback. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you. Mohd Kheiruddin Mohd Rani Director General Malaysian Timber Industry Board

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INDONESIA: DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN TIMBER EXPORTS

Indonesia notched up the remarkable feat of achieving double-digit growth

from its forestry exports in the first quarter of this year despite the

disruption of international demand. Indonesian wood product manufacturers

achieved 14% growth in exports in the first quarter of 2021.

Siti Nurbaya, the Minister of Environment and Forestry applauded this as an

outstanding performance. The Minister commented that the upstream and

downstream forestry sector have benefitted from the easing of tax and non-

tax policies and have adapted well to the new trading environment. She

explained that Indonesia's forestry exports to the US and China in the

first quarter of this year jumped over 30%.

ITTO TTM reports, 1 -15 April 2021

VIET NAM: FOREST PRODUCTS EXPORT GROWTH 14 % IN FIRST QUARTER

Wood, forest and wood product export earnings in the first quarter of 2021

reached USD3.944 billion, an increase of 41% over the same period in 2020

according to the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry. Of the total, the

export revenue from wood and wood products stood at USD3.699 billion, up

41% while the export revenue of other forestry products reached USD243

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million, up 38% over the same period last year. High export growth in the

first quarter of this year was achieved in Vietnam’s main export markets

such as the US, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea and the EU which

account for 90% of Vietnam’s forestry export value. Meanwhile, imports

value of wood and wood products in first quarter of 2021 was estimated at

USD696 million, up 31% over the same period last year. The rise in the

value of imports was due mainly to increased prices for raw materials.


VIET NAM: HIGH OCEAN FREIGHT RATES THREATEN WOOD EXPORTS

According to Vietnam's Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFOREST),

the export of wood products this year is expected to reach USD14 billion,

requiring 800,000 empty containers, which 500,000 empty containers for

exports to the United States.

Although the shortage of containers has eased, there is still a 20% gap. At

the same time, the rise of ocean freight is too fast, which makes companies

face great difficulties. Compared with last November, the freight for each

40 foot container to the EU increased by USD400 to USD500 and compared with

last March, the freight to South Korea has increased 10 folds.

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At the same time, the export price of wood products basically did not rise,

and companies are facing survival pressure. Vietnamese enterprises say that

they dare not to accept long-term orders for the whole year due to the

large fluctuation of ocean freights, and only dare to accept orders within

one or two quarters.

The report said that Vietnam lacks large enough shipping companies to

support its exports. Domestic container ships can only run short distance

routes in Asia, and only a small number of container ships were operating

to European routes, so it still relies heavily on foreign shipping

companies.

GWMI, April 2021

CHINA: FURNITURE EXPORTS INCREASED BY 61% IN THE FIRST QUARTER

According to customs data, from January to March, the export value of

furniture and its parts was 105.43 billion Yuan, an increase of 61% over

the same period last year (65.5 billion Yuan). The export value of

furniture and its parts in March was 33.53 billion Yuan.

China Wood network, 2021-04-15

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CHINA:SAWNWOOD IMPORTS FROM BELARUS SOARED

Russia still was the main sawnwood supplier to China in 2020 but China’s

sawnwood imports from Russia fell 13% to 15.9 million cubic metres and

accounted for 54% of the national total, down 6% year on year. Belarus

became the fastest growing sawnwood supplier to China and sawnwood imports

from Belarus soared 114% to 630,000 cubic metres in 2020.

China’s sawnwood imports from Ukraine and Germany rose 22% and 21% to 1.06

million cubic metres and 1.08 million cubic metres respectively. China’s

sawnwood imports from the USA and Gabon also increased 1% and 4% to 1.64

million cubic metres and 570,000 cubic metres respectively in 2020.

ITTO TTM report, 1- 15 April 2021

INDIA: NEW INVESTMENTS IN PARTICLEBOARD PRODUCTION

The growing demand for particleboard, driven partly by increased purchases

of ready to assemble furniture, is attracting investment in production by

major companies. Currently, particleboard production is dominated by small

sized producers but now some of the laminate manufacturers see an

opportunity in panel production.

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The Times of India has reported that the Gujarat Government has approved a

proposal from Merino Laminates to establish a particleboard plant at Halol

in Panchmahal district. Plyreporter has indicated that other high pressure

decorative laminate producers are also considering moving to downstream

panel production.


INDIA: PLYWOOD DEMAND SET TO EXPAND 4% ANNUALLY

According to a report ‘Indian Plywood Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size,

Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026‘ from the IMARC Group a market

research company, the Indian plywood market was worth Rs222.5 Billion in

2020 and could expand over 4% annually up to 2026. The Indian plywood

market is primarily driven by construction activity and the home furnishing

sector. Growth in consumer disposable income levels along with the rising

expenditure on home décor will support demand for wood based panels.


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JAPAN: IMPORT OF WOODEN DOOR AND WOODEN WINDOW IMPROVED

Wooden door imports as was the case in January 2021, China and the

Philippines dominated Japan’s sources of wooden doors (HS441820) but their

combined shared of total imports slid once more with shippers in SE Asia

especially Indonesia and Malaysia grabbing a higher market share. China

accounted for 52% of the value of February imports of wooden doors followed

by the Philippines at 29% and Indonesia at 6%. Year on year, February

imports of wooden doors were up 38% and month on month February imports

were 18% higher.

While, wooden window (HS441810) imports in February 2021 was little changed

from a year earlier but compared to the value of imports in January there

was a 13% increase. Main shippers, China (49%), the US (25%) and the

Philippines (23%) accounted for most of Japan’s wooden window imports in

February and all saw their share of imports rise compared to January. Year

on year February 2021 imports of wooden windows were flat but month on

month there was a 13% increase.


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EU: NEW COOPERATION PROJECT AIMS TO BOOST EUROPEAN EXPORTS

The huge market and development potential of China's imported wood and wood

products have attracted the attention of many global wood industry

companies and organizations. One of them is the Europe-LEF China

Cooperation Network (LEF Network China). The project is composed of

companies and organizations from three countries: Latvia, Estonia, and

Finland.

The LEF Network China project team believes that China, as a major timber

importer, has not fully paid attention to and developed the potential of

high-value-added wooden products. LEF Network China brings together nearly

80 timber and wood products companies from three countries, Latvia, Estonia

and Finland. The companies have accumulated rich experience in wood

processing, wood structure construction, furniture, etc., especially in

modern mainstream engineered wood- CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) aspect.

European organizations participating in the project are: Latvian Chamber of

Commerce and Industry, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Estonian

Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Latvian Timber Construction Cluster, and

Estonian Wooden House Association.

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The project aims to increase cooperation opportunities between EU wood

companies and Chinese companies, improve the ability of the Baltic Sea wood

companies to cooperate with Chinese wood companies, and promote the growth

of European wood companies’ exports of high value-added wood products to

China.

GWMI, 8 April 2021

EU: DISCUSSION ON POSSIBLE MERGER OF EUTR WITH EU DEFORESTATION‐FREE

REGULATIONS

The EU is considering introduction of new forest and climate policy

measures which would reshape timber trade relations with tropical

countries. In some ways, the proposed measures build on the existing policy

framework contained in the FLEGT Action Plan. However, they also raise

questions about the future of existing instruments such as the EU Timber

Regulation (EUTR) and FLEGT licensing systems.

The potential far-reaching implications of the on-going policy discussions

were highlighted in a presentation by Hugo Schally of the European

Commission’s Environmental Directorate (EC DG ENV) to a webinar hosted by

FERN, the Brussels based environmental NGO, on 17 March 2021 which brought

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together a range of policy makers and civil society stakeholders for

presentations and discussions on the theme ‚Enforcing Due Diligence

regulation for forest risk commodities.

ITTO TTM REPORTS, 1 -15 APRIL 2021

GERMAN: TIMBER TRADERS WORRIED ABOUT A SHORTAGE OF SUPPLIES

The German timber trade is concerned about the increasingly tense situation

on the procurement markets. Wholesalers are increasingly confronted with

long delivery times for the most important product ranges, and supplies to

construction sites are gradually becoming scarce. If the situation worsens,

a construction freeze on construction sites can no longer be ruled out.

Current reports from our member companies indicate a precarious development

in terms of the supply of wood and wood products, said The General

Association of German Timber Trade (GD Holz) chairman Philip Zumsteg.

Demand, on the other hand, is still good, sales development in the first

quarter positive, also influenced by in some cases considerable price

effects.

We now have to be very careful not to interrupt the very good economy for

wood and wood construction - and this is where the industry is primarily

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required to supply the domestic market with its products on a sustainable

basis," continues Zumsteg. For years we had very successful sales marketing

for our renewable raw material, now we have to deliver too.

GD Holz assumes that wood imports will play an increasing role in supplying

the domestic and the entire domestic market. Wood is a globally traded

product; the economic upturn in Asia and the USA is currently creating an

enormous demand for raw materials, including wood - a demand that is

leading to the difficult supply situation in Germany.

GD Holz considers that it is well positioned in the import market with 120

import houses and contributes to the secure supply in Germany and the

domestic market by importing a wide variety of timber assortments from all

over the world.

The local forest owner will continue to play a dominant role in the future

of wood supply, but we have to think globally if we want to ensure the wood

supply in the years to come", says GD Holz Managing Director Thomas Goebel.

GWMI, 15 April 2021

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NORTH AMERICA: TROPICAL HARDWOOD IMPORTS FALL

The volume of sawn tropical hardwood imported by the US fell again in

February, as the US Census Bureau reported only 5,387 cubic metres of wood

imported, which is a 30% decline from January. Imports from Ecuador,

Brazil, and Cameroon all fell more than 50%. Year-to-date totals for 2021

are hard to compare with 2020 since newly implemented USDA categorisations

are no longer counting Ipe and Jatoba imports toward these totals as they

have in previous years.

If Ipe and Jatoba were counted, the decline in February would be only 14%

from January, with a February total 11% higher than February of 2020. US

import volumes of Balsa, Sapelli, Acajou d’Afrique, Mahogany, and Meranti

all fell sharply in February, while Keruing, Cedro, and Jatoba imports all

grew by more than 30%.

Canadian imports of sawn tropical hardwood were down 3% in February and

trail last year’s imports by 28% through the first two months of the year.

ITTO TTM, reports 1 -15 April 2021

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BRAZIL: WOOD PRODUCT EXPORTS INCREASE 30.5% IN FEBRUARY

In February 2021, Brazilian exports of wood-based products (except pulp and

paper) increased 30.5% in value compared to February 2020, from USD216.1

million to USD282.0 million.

Pine sawnwood exports grew 16% in value between February 2020 (USD9.9

million) and February 2021 (USD46.2 million). In volume, exports increased

9% over the same period from 218,800 cubic meters to 238,500 cubic meters.

Tropical sawnwood exports declined 8% in February from 32,600 cubic meters

in February 2020 to 30,100 cubic meters in February 2021. In value, exports

fell 13% from USD14.5 million to USD12.6 million over the same period.

Pine plywood exports surged 75% in value in February 2021 in comparison

with February 2020, from USD36.1 million to USD63.3 million. In volume

terms, exports increased 17% over the same period, from 165,800 cubic

meters to 194,500 cubic meters.

As for tropical plywood, export volumes remained flat but export earnings

rose 15% (from 5,200 cubic meters, USD2.0 million in February 2020 to 5,200

cubic meters and value at USD2.3 million in February 2021).

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Wooden furniture export earnings increased from USD43.3 million in February

2020 to USD55.1 million in February 2021, a 27% year-on-year rise. Sales of

Brazilian furniture to the United States have grown over the last two

years.

Panel&furniture, 5 April 2021

US: WOODEN FURNITURE IMPORTS END GROWTH STREAK

After eight straight months of growth US imports of wooden furniture fell

by 18% in February. While still totalling more than US$1.7 billion for the

month, imports from China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India all fell

in the 20% range. However, comparing the value of imports in February 2020,

before the world realised a pandemic was imminent and February 2021 the

strength of recovery in the US furniture market has been remarkable.

Despite the slump, year-to-date imports from each country are up more than

10% for the first two months of the year. Conversely, imports from Canada

were up 3% in February, but are down 8% year to year.

In a press release the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association reports

cabinet sales rebounded in February with overall sales up 5.9% from

January. Custom sales were up 12.2%, semi-custom sales up 6.5%, and stock

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sales increased 4.2%. Participating cabinet manufacturers reported an

increase in overall cabinet sales of 5.7% for February 2021 compared to the

same month in 2020. Custom sales are up 9.4%, semi-custom increased 9.9%,

and stock sales increased 2.2%.

The month-to-month comparison, cabinet sales rebounded. Overall sales were

up 5.9% in February 2021 compared to January 2021. Custom sales were up

12.2%, semi-custom sales up 6.5, and stock sales increased 4.2%.

ITTO TMM reports, 1 – 15 April 2021

HOUSING STARTS ROSE 19.4% IN MARCH

Privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted

annual rate of 1,739,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is

19.4% above the revised February estimate of 1,457,000 and is 37.0% above

the March 2020 rate of 1,269,000. Single-family housing starts in March

were at a rate of 1,238,000; this is 15.3% above the revised February

figure of 1,074,000. The March rate for units in buildings with five units

or more was 477,000.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were

at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,766,000. This is 2.7% above the

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revised February rate of 1,720,000 and is 30.2% above the March 2020 rate

of 1,356,000. Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of

1,199,000; this is 4.6% above the revised February figure of 1,146,000.

Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate

of 508,000 in March.

Privately-owned housing completions in March were at a seasonally adjusted

annual rate of 1,580,000. This is 16.6% above the revised February estimate

of 1,355,000 and is 23.4% above the March 2020 rate of 1,280,000. Single-

family housing completions in March were at a rate of 1,099,000; this is

5.3% above the revised February rate of 1,044,000. The March rate for units

in buildings with five units or more was 476,000.

Floor Daily, 19 April 2021

AUSTRALIA: HOME BUILDER CONSTRUCTION DEADLINE EXTENDED

The federal government has extended the deadline to begin construction

under the HomeBuilder grants program by an additional 12 months.

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Those who were eligible for the grant before its March 31 conclusion - some

121,000 building applications, according to the government - will now have

18 months after signing contracts to commence construction.

"This extension in the commencement date for which the first slab can be

laid is a very important step," Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters.

The scheme would cost the government AUD2.5 billion but had helped tip some

AUD30 billion into Australia's construction sector amid the COVID-19

pandemic.

Approvals to build private homes hit a record high in February, fuelled by

HomeBuilder and record low interest rates.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said since the introduction of

HomeBuilder in June 2020, private house approvals have risen by almost 70

%.

In February, home approvals jumped by 15.1 % to 13,939 houses, breaching

the previous peak set in December last year.

The HomeBuilder scheme was introduced during the depths of the COVID-19

pandemic and late last year was extended to March, although the size of

grants was trimmed from AUD25,000 to AUD15,000.

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The Property Council of Australia on Saturday welcomed the deadline change,

saying HomeBuilder had been an "economic bullseye" and the extension would

ease pressure on home builders to begin construction quickly.

Australian Associated Press, Sat, 17 April 2021

WEST AFRICA: CONTAINER SHORTAGE DISRUPT LUMBER EXPORT

All West African shippers are suffering from a lack of containers for

exports. The shipping companies are struggling to meet demand. According to

Bloomberg, most shipping containers are made in China and manufacturers

there suffered a collapse in orders in early 2020.

The recovery in global trade came so quick that container box makers in

China were unable to raise production fast enough and this led to shortages

and is part of the reason for soaring freight rates.

The shortage of shipping opportunities in West Africa may improve if the

purchase of NileDutch by Hapag-Lloyd goes through. Hapag-Lloyd hopes to

capture a larger share of the West African market. NileDutch is one of the

leading providers of container services from and to West Africa.

ITTO TTM, report 1- 15 April 2021

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GHANA: EXPORT OF FOREST PRODUCTS GREW FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2021

According to data from the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of

the Forestry Commission, year on year, exports of timber and wood products

increased to 42,173 cubic meters in the first two months of 2021, from

35,508 cubic meters in the same period in 2020 representing an increase of

19% in export volumes. There was an almost 30% increase in export earnings

over the same period. Except for sliced and rotary veneer export volumes

for sawnwood (AD and KD), billets, plywood (regional sales) and mouldings

registered significant increases compared to the same products in 2020.

Total revenue from wood products increased by close to 260% year-on-year

during the first two-months of 2021 compared to 2020.

ITTO TTM, report 1- 15 April 2021

GLOBAL: SHORTAGE OF WOOD PRODUCTS MAY BECOME WORSE

In a joint statement, the UK Construction Industry Leadership Council

issued the following warnings to the industries.

In the UK and globally, the demand for construction wood products is still

high, and demand in all areas will continue throughout 2021. Unfortunately,

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this means that our current usability problems may worsen before they

improve. Imported products such as wood, steel, roof tiles and bricks have

been added to the list of existing products that are in short supply.

Before the Suez Canal was temporarily blocked, we found that the container

cost and delivery time of these imported goods were slightly reduced. We

expect that this situation will continue once the effects of the temporary

closure continue.

In the foreseeable future, timber imports will be a problem. Timber

production is not enough to meet world demand. In addition, other countries

are also preparing to pay higher prices to ensure supply, which makes the

UK's ranking drop.

All users should plan for increased demand and longer delays, maintain open

communication channels with suppliers, and order as soon as possible for

future projects.

GWMI, 12 April 2021

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GLOBAL: THE WORLD'S FIRST WOOD SATELLITE IS SCHEDULED TO LAUNCH IN 2021

The world's first satellite made of wood is scheduled to launch into orbit

later this year. UPM Plywood, Arctic Astronautics and technology design

company Huld are involved in a project to study the durability and

behaviour of plywood.

The Wisa Woodsat satellite is intended to determine whether wood material

can be used in space. The Nano satellite, built by Arctic Astronautics,

measures 10x10x10 centimetres and weighs about a kilo.

The satellite is scheduled to take off on its space flight with the Rocket

Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand.

The behaviour of birch plywood made in Savonlinna is monitored by two

cameras, one of which is at the end of a camera boom, or selfie stick, that

opens in space. The tiny satellite gets its energy from nine small solar

cells.

Fordaq, 16 April 2021

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By:

Trade Development Division Malaysian Timber Industry Board

(Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities) Level 13-17, Menara PGRM, No. 8 Jalan Pudu Ulu, Cheras

P.O.Box 10887, 50728 Kuala Lumpur

mtib news extract - mwmjc

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