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Britain's softwood lumber imports rise sharply in 2015

Posted on by GWMI Admin

British imports of sawn and planed lumber have increased in volume by 27% in the first eleven months of 2015, according to the latest figures provided by Eurostat.
The total volume of imports surpassed the 5,7 million cubic meters mark against 4,5 million in the corresponding period of 2014.
Imports from the European Union countries, which represent more than 90% of all UK softwood lumber purchases, grew by 26% as compared to January-November 2014. Notably those from Sweden (+26%), Finland (+31%) and Latvia (+22),  the first three main UK suppliers, contributed the most to the overall increase. UK imports of German softwood lumber increased by 26% up to 343 thousand cubic meters.
Though with lower volumes, imports from Russia and Ireland rose by 13%, while those from Norway rose by 302%.
In terms of market shares, Sweden remains by far the largest softwood lumber supplier to the UK. In January-November 2015, Sweden delivered more than 40% of all British imports, followed by Latvia (14%), and Finland (13,8%).

UK imports of softwood lumber (in cubic meters); Top 10 Origins January-November 2014 January-November 2015 Change in %
Sweden 2,053,437 2,389,351 26%
Latvia 671,945 821,067 22%
Finland 609,905 797,206 31%
Germany 272,673 343,203 26%
Russia 300,645 340,956 13%
Ireland 282,067 317,530 13%
Poland 7,729 256,155 3,214%
Norway 32,193 129,566 302%
Estonia 74,055 65,086 -12%
Lithuania 20,245 51,917 156%
Total imports from EU countries 4,135,694 5,206,150 26%
Total imports Worldwide 4,534,919 5,741,437 27%

The statistics are based on the numbers published by Eurostat. The product Softwood Lumber consists of following HS Codes: 440710.
 
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Britain’s softwood lumber imports rise sharply in 2015

Posted on by GWMI Admin

British imports of sawn and planed lumber have increased in volume by 27% in the first eleven months of 2015, according to the latest figures provided by Eurostat.

The total volume of imports surpassed the 5,7 million cubic meters mark against 4,5 million in the corresponding period of 2014.

Imports from the European Union countries, which represent more than 90% of all UK softwood lumber purchases, grew by 26% as compared to January-November 2014. Notably those from Sweden (+26%), Finland (+31%) and Latvia (+22),  the first three main UK suppliers, contributed the most to the overall increase. UK imports of German softwood lumber increased by 26% up to 343 thousand cubic meters.

Though with lower volumes, imports from Russia and Ireland rose by 13%, while those from Norway rose by 302%.

In terms of market shares, Sweden remains by far the largest softwood lumber supplier to the UK. In January-November 2015, Sweden delivered more than 40% of all British imports, followed by Latvia (14%), and Finland (13,8%).

UK imports of softwood lumber (in cubic meters); Top 10 Origins January-November 2014 January-November 2015 Change in %
Sweden 2,053,437 2,389,351 26%
Latvia 671,945 821,067 22%
Finland 609,905 797,206 31%
Germany 272,673 343,203 26%
Russia 300,645 340,956 13%
Ireland 282,067 317,530 13%
Poland 7,729 256,155 3,214%
Norway 32,193 129,566 302%
Estonia 74,055 65,086 -12%
Lithuania 20,245 51,917 156%
Total imports from EU countries 4,135,694 5,206,150 26%
Total imports Worldwide 4,534,919 5,741,437 27%

The statistics are based on the numbers published by Eurostat. The product Softwood Lumber consists of following HS Codes: 440710.

 

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US: Slick Rock Lumber opens new sawmill in Virginia

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Slick Rock Lumber will open a new sawmill operation in Halifax County, Virginia, US. The company will create 13 new jobs in the county and source 75% of its timber needs from Virginia land owners.
Slick Rock Lumber will invest $535,000 in site improvements and equipment needed to open the new hard- and softwood sawmill.
The company’s primary products will be railroad ties and large planks to be made into mats for use by utility, construction, and logging companies.
Slick Rock is also committing to purchase more than $5 million of Virginia timber over the next three years, or 75% of the forestry inputs needed for the new production venture.
 
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Montréal Wood Convention coming up next week

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The Montréal Wood Convention (MWC) will be held next week from March 22 to 24, 2016 at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth in Montréal, Canada. With 650 participants from the wood products industry and over 80 exhibitors in 2015, and even more expected in 2016, MWC sounds promising for wood products companies.
At the 2016 Convention, two half-days are dedicated to the trade show. It is a good occasion to meet North American suppliers of lumber, engineered wood products, wood construction components, hardwood and flooring. The seminar on the economy, markets and marketing gives you the chance to learn about the market development for wood products and how social media can be used to market products and brands.
In addition, as a new feature, there will be a seminar dedicated to the hardwood lumber markets. A technical seminar, where leading suppliers of equipment and services for the wood products industry present examples of successful technical solutions, is also scheduled.
Visit www.montrealwoodconvention.com for more details.

U.S. housing starts rise more than expected in February

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Home construction in U.S. increased more than expected in February, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department.
Housing starts jumped by 5.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.178 million in February from the revised January estimate of 1.120 million. This is the highest level since September 2015. Economists had expected a rise of 4.3 percent to a rate of 1.146 million. This increase is attributed to the warm weather in February which led to higher than usual building activity, after the slowdown in January and December.
A good development was registered in single-family starts, which surged up 7.2 percent to a rate of 822,000. Multi-family starts rose 0.8 percent to a rate of 356,000.
Moreover, data of the Commerce Department revealed that building permits, an indicative for future construction, dropped 3.1 percent to a rate of 1.167 million in February from a revised 1.204 million in January.
 
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Estonia: Wood pellets exports up by 87% in January

Posted on by GWMI Admin

During January 2016, the Estonian enterprises exported wood pellets of 15.8 million euros and 141.3 million euros worth of wood products. This represents a 87.2% increase compared to January 2015. Still, the total exports of wood products decreased by 2.1%, according to the Baltic Course following Statistic Estonia reports.
The wood pellets sales increased mostly in Sweden and the UK, where the exports summed 4.1 million and 2 million euros, respectively. Exports to Denmark totaled 7.7 million euros and sales grew on all the other markets.
Yet, the sawn and planed timber exports fell by 3.3%, reaching 25.5 million euros, as well as wooden furniture exports, which decreased by 17.7%, reaching 17.1 million euros. Also, the building elements exports declined by 20.4% to 13.6 million euros.
Thus, the deficit of foreign trade in Estonia ascended 272.6%, reaching 158 million euros. The total worth of wood products import was 39.2 million euros in January, which represented a 9.8% decline compared to last year.
 
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Legality verification and certification in EU wood supply

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EUwoodtradecertificationJust how much of the wood traded internationally derives from legal and sustainable sources is a question frequently asked by both timber buyers and policy-makers in the EU.
The question has become particularly relevant now that the EU Timber Regulation obliges all importers to demonstrate that there is a negligible risk of any illegal wood entering their supply chains. Unfortunately there is not a simple answer to this question.
According to ITTO, one issue is how to define terms like "negligible risk” and “sustainably" sourced. There are large areas of forest around the world where there is very little risk of illegal harvest and that would be considered "sustainable" against most measures, but are not independently verified or certified. This is particularly true of forests owned and managed by communities or private non-industrial forest owners.
Another issue is that certification systems do not measure the volume of trade in certified products. Typically they only monitor the area of certified forest and the numbers of chain of custody certificates issued.
Nevertheless, efforts have being made to overcome these problems. In 2012, Forest Industries Intelligence (FII) Ltd, a UK-based company, devised a procedure to estimate "level of exposure to 3rd party verified/certified wood".
This formed part of a project joint funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the EU Timber Trade Action Plan, and European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF).
That 2012 assessment has now been updated by the ITTO Independent Market Monitoring (IMM) Project which is monitoring the market impact of the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs).
The ‘level of exposure’ is a rough measure to identify gaps in forest coverage of independent certification and legality verification systems. It is based on the percentage area of certified or legally verified commercial forest area in each individual supplier country.
For example, if 40% of its forest area is known to be independently certified or legally verified, the level of exposure of a country’s wood production and exports is also assumed to be 40%.
The certified/verified forest areas are calculated by comparing data from the various certification and verification systems with UN FAO figures for areas of productive forest land.
‘Level of exposure’ data can be broken down by verification system, including FSC, PEFC, or operatorbased systems of legality verification (such as SGS TLTV, Smartwood VLO, or OLB). For this assessment, wood from countries covered by FSC-endorsed National Controlled Wood Risk Assessment is also considered ‘3rd party verified’.
To avoid double counting, areas dual certified to FSC and PEFC are accounted separately. Adjustments are also made for a few countries, such as Brazil and the USA, where there is a big difference in the level of certification in hardwood and softwood forests.
The new assessment indicates that in 2014, around 80% of internal EU trade in timber products (including all wood, wood furniture, pulp and paper) was “exposed” to some form of certification or legality verification. This is simply due to the fact that a very large proportion of forest area within the EU is either certified or assessed to be low risk of illegal harvest in an FSC national controlled wood assessment.
 
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Dieffenbacher to supply particle board plant to Swiss Krono Group in Menznau

Posted on by GWMI Admin

The Swiss wood-based panel manufacturer Swiss Krono commissioned Dieffenbacher to supply a state-of-the-art particle board plant for its Menznau site in Switzerland. Planned as a replacement investment, the plant is designed to provide an annual capacity of around 400,000 m³.
It is used to manufacture conventional particle boards in thicknesses ranging from 6 to 60 mm, as well as thin boards up to 2.5 mm thick and lower-density lightweight particle boards.
The scope of supply includes the gluing system, forming station, forming line, press and diagonal saw.
The plant uses the Dieffenbacher EVOjet P gluing system, which was first tested in the field in 2013. Accordind to Dieffenbacher, the EVOjet P achieves glue savings of up to 15% compared to conventional particle board gluing systems.
The plant is also equipped with a Formator P, which is a combination of a segmented scalper and a Dieffensor; it is integrated into the forming station. This new forming technology is designed to provide an extremely high forming accuracy, as Dieffenbacher describes the product.
At the heart of the plant is the new CPS+ continuous press with a length of 34.5 m and a width of 2400 mm. The infeed offers highly flexible adjustment options and the press comes with optimized pressure distribution — these are the crucial features that enable superior board tolerances to be achieved, says Dieffenbacher.
When it comes to automation, Dieffenbacher uses state-of-the-art technology from Siemens (S7-1500 with TIA Portal). Since 2013, Dieffenbacher has been the only plant manufacturer in the field of wood-based panels to implement this future-proof automation solution as standard in its projects, the company explained.
 
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2015-a positive year for the U.S. lumber market

Posted on by GWMI Admin

The U.S. lumber market was a bright spot as compared to most other regions of the world in 2015, according to Wood Resources International. As a result of a healthy housing market, lumber consumption was up almost 5% as compared to 2014, and import volumes in 2015 were 10% higher than in the previous year.
The strong domestic market and a weakening Asian market also resulted in less lumber being exported in 2015. Export shipments were down 9.7%, while imports were up 10% from 2014.
Lumber exports from Canada reached an eight-year high in 2015 when sawmills took advantage of the fairly strong U.S. lumber market, which combined with the weak currency, allowed them to ship 9.2% more lumber to the U.S. than in 2014. Shipments to China, on the other hand, fell over 13% to the lowest level since 2010.
In terms of production, the U.S. lumber output totaled 31.962 billion board feet in 2015, up 1.5% from the 2014 total, according to the Western Wood Products Association's "Lumber Track" publication.
Production in the West in 2015 was down 0.7% from 2014, while production in the South was up 3.0%.
Nationwide, December production totaled 2.530 billion feet, up 7.6% from the November figure and 0.2% ahead of the December 2014 total.
 
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Value of EU exports of wood products at all time record in 2015

Posted on by GWMI Admin

EUexportsofwoodproductsThe relative weakness of EU currencies, combined with a strong focus on reducing costs and improving efficiency in the European wood sector and the slow growth of domestic consumption, contributed to a sharp rise in EU exports of wood products to non-EU countries between 2009 and 2015 (see chart), as ITTO reported.
In 2015, the value of EU exports of wood products were running at their highest ever level at over euro20 billion. In 2015, the EU had a euro3 billion trade surplus in wood products which compares to a euro3 billion deficit before the financial crises. EU export growth has been concentrated in sawn wood, joinery (notably flooring and glulam products) and wood furniture.
Although around 30% of EU wood product exports consistently go to neighbouring European countries (mainly Switzerland and Norway), since the global financial crises there has been a significant in rise in exports to Africa, the Middle East and China alongside traditional markets in North America and the CIS.
For wood exporters selling into the EU, the weakness of the euro and sharp rise in the EU’s wood trade surplus imply intense competition from domestically harvested timber and manufactured wood products. Due to the wide diversity of wood manufacturing activities in the EU, this is true of nearly all wood sectors.
Even in those wood sectors where European manufacturers have traditionally been weak and more dependent on imports, such as in supply of durable goods for outdoor use and in appearance grade wood, new innovative products are taking share from external suppliers.
Key innovations include a wide range of new surface finishes to enhance the appearance and performance of panel products, and thermal and chemical modification processes to enhance the durability of domestic wood species.
At the same time, with traditional markets growing only slowly, EU wood manufacturers are developing new products designed to extend the range of wood into new sectors traditionally dominated by other materials, notably steel and concrete.
For example, EU production of cross-laminated timber – a product which can successfully compete with steel and concrete in high-density urban construction – increased from 100,000 m3 in 2005 to 700,000 m3 in 2015.
 
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Germany: Price of pellets remains stable in March despite the bankruptcy of German Pellets

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The price of wood pellets in Germany remains relatively stable in March 2016, with a slight drop of 1.1% compared to February. Thus, the price went down to EUR 239.56/t, as the German Energy Wood and Pellet Association (DEPV) reported.
Yet, compared to March 2015, the wood pellets price increased by 6.4%. Currently, one kilogram of pellets costs 23.96 cents, and a kilowatt-hour (kWh) of heat from pellets costs 4.79 cents.
Wood pellets offer a price advantage over natural gas of almost 25%. On contrast, due to the sharp drop in oil prices, heating oil currently offers price advantage of about 9% against wood pellets.

Martin Bentele, Managing Director of DEPV, stated that "in spite of the bankruptcy of a large pellet producer, the supply of wood pellets was and is at the present well secured. A good evidence for this is the stable price reported this month."

Central Germany recorded a price of EUR 237.06/t, the lowest in the country, for purchases of 6 tonnes. In Southern Germany, the same amount of pellets costs EUR 238.28/t, while in Northern and Eastern Germany, the price reaches EUR 245.19/t.
For 26 tonnes purchases, the prices changes accordingly: South: EUR 223.50/t, Center: EUR 221.72/t, North and East: EUR 224.54 EUR/ t (VAT included).

Price evolution of wood pellets in Germany

Price of wood pellets in Germany
Create line charts

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BC Premier is optimistic about a new Softwood Lumber Agreement

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Christy Clark, BC Premier, stated that she was optimistic about a future agreement regarding the softwood lumber trade between Canada and the US. She added that she hopes that the new deal would solve the existing trade conflict, according to the Globe and Mail.
Starting October 2016, the US forestry has an opportunity to start a new trade conflict over the Canadian softwood lumber imports. Last year, BC sent $3.3 billion worth of softwood lumber, but once with the expiry of the 2006 SLA, the two countries now have a one year standstill during which the US can’t impose any new tariffs over the Canadian softwood lumber imports.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama met on the 10th of March at the White House and discussed about new possibilities to the expired SLA. The two officials told the Ministers of Trade of the two countries to find a solution and present it in the next 100 days from the meeting.

As Clark said, that was “fantastic news. British Columbians have worked really hard to make sure the softwood lumber agreement was on the Prime Minister’s agenda, and he listened. Now, there is a lot of work to be done between now and then, but I know you can’t get to the end of something unless you start. So this is a good start – let’s get going, we need to protect those jobs in British Columbia.”

As the Globe and Mail reported, despite the fact that BC’s exports to the US have declined in the last years, this trade is still very important at it directly implies more than 60,000 people and their jobs. During this one-year standstill, Canada was asked to put a certain tax on exports if the softwood lumber prices happened to decline below the predetermined threshold.
 
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Boise Cascade purchase of Georgia-Pacific's engineered lumber business gets green

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Boise Cascade Company has received antitrust clearance from the United States Department of Justice to proceed with its previously announced acquisition of Georgia-Pacific LLC`s engineered lumber production facilities located at Thorsby, Alabama and Roxboro, North Carolina. The company plans to complete the acquisition by the end of this month.
Back in December 2015, Georgia-Pacific has agreed to sell its engineered lumber business to Boise Cascade for $215 million, including working capital.

Mark Luetters, Georgia-Pacific's executive vice president – building products commented on the transaction: "Georgia-Pacific is firmly committed to the building products industry. Although the engineered lumber business has been profitable and employees have done a great job running safe, productive assets and meeting our customers' needs, it is not a large part of our overall building products division."
"We believe this potential sale to an established player in the industry is in the best interest of our engineered lumber employees, customers and stakeholders," he added.

Once completed, the sale will include the approximately 270 employees from the two facilities in Thorsby and Roxboro, along with a commercial sales and technical team.
About Georgia-Pacific
Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, office papers, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals.
About Boise-Cascade
Boise Cascade is one of the largest producers of plywood and engineered wood products in North America and a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products.
 
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Boise Cascade purchase of Georgia-Pacific’s engineered lumber business gets green

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Boise Cascade Company has received antitrust clearance from the United States Department of Justice to proceed with its previously announced acquisition of Georgia-Pacific LLC`s engineered lumber production facilities located at Thorsby, Alabama and Roxboro, North Carolina. The company plans to complete the acquisition by the end of this month.

Back in December 2015, Georgia-Pacific has agreed to sell its engineered lumber business to Boise Cascade for $215 million, including working capital.

Mark Luetters, Georgia-Pacific's executive vice president – building products commented on the transaction: "Georgia-Pacific is firmly committed to the building products industry. Although the engineered lumber business has been profitable and employees have done a great job running safe, productive assets and meeting our customers' needs, it is not a large part of our overall building products division."

"We believe this potential sale to an established player in the industry is in the best interest of our engineered lumber employees, customers and stakeholders," he added.

Once completed, the sale will include the approximately 270 employees from the two facilities in Thorsby and Roxboro, along with a commercial sales and technical team.

About Georgia-Pacific

Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, office papers, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals.

About Boise-Cascade

Boise Cascade is one of the largest producers of plywood and engineered wood products in North America and a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products.

 

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Malaysia: Optimistic outlook for timber exports in 2016

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Despite many global changes, the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) hopes that Malaysia will be able to keep growing timber production this year, according to Bernama.
Datuk Abdul Rahim Nik, the Chief Executive Officer of MTC, stated that the exports of timber and timber products, such as wooden and rattan furniture, plywood and sawn timber, have went up to RM 22.1 billion in 2015, 6.5% higher than 2014.
During the MTC Marketing Seminar themed, "Current Market Development and Outlook for Malaysian Timber Products and Furniture in China, India, Europe, the Middle East, the Philippines and the US", Datuk Abdul Rahim Nik said that exports for furniture alone have increased to RM 9 billion in 2015, 14% higher than the previous year.
Even if the optimistic outlook of 2016’s timber activities is already a go for MTC, this is still region-based and it depends on a lot of factors. The industry members should thus consider new markets and explore new opportunities.

"Therefore, there was a need to update industry players on opportunities and challenges that lie in various key markets. We are now looking at India, which imported about RM 1.89 billion worth of furniture in 2015 and China which also registered growth besides other key markets like the United States, Japan and Australia," said Abdul Rahim.

Datuk Seri Douglas Unggah Embas, the Minister of the Plantation Industries and Commodities, stated that the timber industry holds for 2.8% of Malaysia’s total merchandise export and that the industry should also reach potential buyers by investing in e-commerce platforms.
 
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U.S.: Mary's River Lumber Co. closes down

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Mary’s River Lumber Co. ended its operations at the cedar sawmill from Philomath and the finishing plant in Corvallis, after 42 years of operations. The U.S. Benton County-based company had 80 workers, out of which 42 had already been dismissed, according to Corvallis Gazette-Times.
Brad Kirkbride, company President, said that this event comes after a tough time trying to find suitable cedar logs, because of harvesting restrictions on the public forests.

“It’s a sad moment, but there comes a point where with this extreme shortage of logs, you just don’t see a future. We fought this thing for a long time trying to keep the business open. This is a situation where it isn’t going to get any better. It’s been rough,” he added.

The operations will continue until this summer, as to sell the rest of the goods and market its facilities for an easier sale.
The Mary’s River Lumber Company has other facilities in Montesano, Washington and Bow, Washington and is mainly producing siding, decking and boards for trim.
 
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U.S.: Mary’s River Lumber Co. closes down

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Mary’s River Lumber Co. ended its operations at the cedar sawmill from Philomath and the finishing plant in Corvallis, after 42 years of operations. The U.S. Benton County-based company had 80 workers, out of which 42 had already been dismissed, according to Corvallis Gazette-Times.

Brad Kirkbride, company President, said that this event comes after a tough time trying to find suitable cedar logs, because of harvesting restrictions on the public forests.

“It’s a sad moment, but there comes a point where with this extreme shortage of logs, you just don’t see a future. We fought this thing for a long time trying to keep the business open. This is a situation where it isn’t going to get any better. It’s been rough,” he added.

The operations will continue until this summer, as to sell the rest of the goods and market its facilities for an easier sale.

The Mary’s River Lumber Company has other facilities in Montesano, Washington and Bow, Washington and is mainly producing siding, decking and boards for trim.

 

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China: Minor rise in 2015 sawnwood imports volumes, but prices slip

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Data from China Customs shows that there was a slight rise in sawnwood imports in 2015. China’s 2015 sawnwood imports totalled 26.08 million cubic metres valued at US$7 billion, a year on year increase of 2% in volume but an 8% decline in value. The average price for imported sawnwood was US$285 per cubic metre, down 10% in 2015.
Of total sawnwood imports, sawn softwood imports fell 3% to 14.11 million cubic metres, accounting for 54% of the national total. The average price for imported sawn softwood was US$196 per cubic metre, down 10% year on year.
However, the data shows a 7% rise in sawn hardwood imports to 11.97 million cubic metres.The average price for imported sawn hardwoods was US$389 per cubic metre, down 12% year on year.
Of total sawn hardwood imports, tropical sawnwood imports were 4.77 million cubic metres valued at US$2.1 billion, up 15% in volume but down 6% in value and accounted for 18% of the national total.
The average price for imported tropical sawnwood was US$432 per cubic metre, a year on year decline of 19%.
China’s sawnwood imports in 2015

2015 in million cubic meters Change in % 2014/2015 Value in US$ billion
Total imports 26,080,000 2% 7,400.000.000
Sawn softwood 14,000,000 -3% 2,800,000,000
All hardwoods 11,970,000 7% 2,600,000,000
of which tropical 4,770,000 15% 2,100,000,000

Data source: China Customs
 
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Ghana: 80% of the timber is illegally harvested

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As it has been recently announced by Nii Osah Mills, the The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in Ghana, 80% of the timber used in the country is coming from illegal sources. As Mills added, this can only affect the progress of the sector, according to Ghana Web.
He expressed his dissatisfaction toward the actions of chainsaw operators in front of participants at a ‘voluntary partnership agreement’ (VPA) ceremony in Accra, on Wednesday. The ceremony took place in order for the Minister to reinforce the certification and licensing of timber in Ghana and was organized by the government and the EU.
The VPA was signed to make sure that Ghana only exports legal timber products to the EU and that it sells legal timber on its domestic market. But now, the illegal activities are taking over the timber trade and they also affect the image and actions of legal entities.

“The Ministry is working around the clock to see to it that the government would use only certified timber in its activities, otherwise it would not be accepted to be used in its projects. We are currently pushing such a policy through to Cabinet,” Mills announced.

The lack of logistics is the main reason for which the battle against illegal chainsaw operators can’t be fulfilled, as Nii Osah Mills explained. Also, these operators have weapons that are too strong for Ghana’s taskforces.
 
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Other two German Pellets subsidiaries file for insolvency

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Another two companies of German Pellets group have filed applications for insolvency proceedings, on March 11. The German Horse Pellets GmbH and the German Pellets Trading GmbH are located in Wismar (Germany) and lawyer Bettina Schmudde of the White & Case bankruptcy GbR was appointed as provisional insolvency administrator.
There are now 7 companies of the German Pellets Group in provisional insolvency proceedings, each of them with an competent provisional administrator: German Pellets GmbH, with attorney Bettina Schmudde, German Pellets GmbH profit participation rights, with lawyer Dr. Sven - Holger Undritz, German Pellets Beteiligungs GmbH, with lawyer Dr. Sven - Holger Undritz, German Pellets Supply GmbH & Co. KG and German Pellets GmbH Sachsen, with lawyer Bettina Schmudde, besides the one filing for insolvency on Friday.
German Pellets GmbH filed for insolvency on the 10th of February at the regional court of Amtsgericht Schwerin, Germany.
One of the reasons for which the Wismar’s wood pellet producer got to this situation is the decline of oil costs, which brought the wood pellets price tag way below pressure. In addition, the incomes have lowered due to the weather conditions (the last two years’ warm winters) and the acquisition of Kago, the furnace producer, in 2010, which turned out to be a bad investment.
Lawyer Bettina Schmudde from Kanzlei White & Case law firm was appointed as provisional solvency administrator in the insolvency proceedings initiated against the assets of German Pellets GmbH.
 
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