Global Timber and Wood Products Market Update
- a news brief from Wood Resources
International LLC
Wood chip exports
from Latin America reached a record high in 2011, with pulp
mills in Japan and Europe being the major export
destinations, reports the Wood Resource
Quarterly
Global trade of wood chips
has gone up substantially the past two years. Hardwood chip
export from Chile, Uruguay and Brazil was up 43 percent in
2011 compared to 2009, as reported by the Wood Resource
Quarterly. A clear majority of the increase was Eucalyptus
chips destined for pulp mills in Japan and
Europe.
Seattle, USA. Wood chip
exports from Latin America are on track to reach a record
high of almost eight million tons in 2011, reports the Wood
Resource Quarterly. This would be an increase of seven
percent from last year and of almost 60 percent higher than
in 2006.
Chile is by far the biggest exporter, accounting for two-thirds of the total shipments from the continent, while Brazil and Uruguay both account for about 16 percent each. In 2011, Chile was the world’s second largest supplier of hardwood chips after Vietnam.
Latin America’s hardwood chip export volumes accounted for approximately 50 percent of globally traded wood chips, a share that has grown from 34 percent five years ago. Historically, between 80-90 percent of the exported wood chips from Latin America have been destined for Japanese pulp mills, but there has been a diversification of consumers over the past few years. Although shipments to Japan have gone up by over 30 percent from 2006, the share of total exports has declined and is currently around 70 percent.
The biggest change from five years ago is that pulp mills in Europe have been buying much more Eucalyptus chip, particularly from Chile and Uruguay. In 2011, total shipments to Europe reached almost 1.7 million tons, which was slightly lower than 2010 but more than a doubling from 2009, according to the WRQ. The three major importing countries in Europe are Spain, Portugal and Norway. In addition, there have also been a few shipments to Finnish and Swedish pulp mills the past few years.
New destinations for Eucalyptus chips from Latin America the past five years include Morocco, Turkey and China. There are expectations that Chile will increase its shipments to China in the coming years because of higher demand from new pulp mills in the country.
Global timber market reporting is
included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood
Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The report, established in 1988
and with subscribers in over 25 countries, tracks sawlog,
pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices and market developments
in most key regions around the world.
www.woodprices.com
ENDS