Month: September 2009

The latest European import data suggests that the dramatic fall in EU tropical hardwood imports which began at the start of 2008, continued into the second quarter of 2009. Between January and June this year, European imports of tropical hardwood logs, sawn lumber, veneer and plywood were down 41%, 45%, 39% and 46% respectively compared to the same period in 2008. European import volumes of these commodities in 2009 are a small fraction of those prevailing only two years earlier in 2007. While it is easy to explain falling import volumes as a cyclical response to the global economic downturn, such has been the depth of the decline that serious issues are raised about the extent to which it might drive long-term structural changes in the European wood industry that may be generally detrimental to future prospects for tropical hardwood.

While the European summer holiday season has now come to end, hardwood importers across the EU remain extremely cautious of forward buying. So far expectations that reduced landed stocks in Europe after a very long period of limited buying would stimulate greater forward orders in the third quarter of the year, have yet to be realised.