Forest Industries Intelligence
Informing the Sustainable Wood Industry Since 1998
The import value of tropical wood and wood furniture into the UK in the opening eight months of this year was USD1.06B, 21% more than the same period last year. Following the strongest start to the year in terms of UK import value since before the 2008 financial crises, imports fell sharply during July and August (Chart 1).
The most recent EU27 trade data to end July this year shows that imports of tropical wood and wood furniture products were still at historically high levels in the early summer months this year. However, imports were slowing from the peak reached in May. Now, as Europe moves into the winter months there are ominous signs of recession ahead, particularly as the war in Ukraine is contributing to huge increases in energy prices and business and consumer confidence is being hit by expectations of higher interest rates to control inflation.