Forest Industries Intelligence

The total value of EU28 imports of wood products was 20.51 billion euro in 2019, 4% more than in 2018. This followed an increase of 5% to 19.7 billion euro in 2018. In 2019 EU28 import value was at the highest level since 2008 just before the global financial crises (Chart 1).

An analysis of EU trade data by the FLEGT Independent Market Monitor (IMM), an ITTO project funded by the EU, shows that FLEGT licensed products from Indonesia, particularly wood furniture and doors, were on course to be the biggest winners in the EU tropical timber market last year. 

As usual in January, the IMM furniture fair in Cologne and the Domotex flooring show in Hamburg were key events for the European wood trade, providing a signal of market sentiment and an insight into emerging trends. 

Headline figures for sawn hardwood consumption in Europe show that demand has been flat for the last decade. However, these figures obscure major underlying changes in the European market. 

At the time of the last update on the European plywood market (ITTO TTMR Volume 23 Number 16, 16 -31 August 2019), the sector was experiencing a tightening market and competitive conditions. In the intervening four months, according to leading importers, not a lot has changed.  

To rebuild share in the European market, the tropical wood sector must exploit emerging opportunities from the synergies between the FLEGT VPA process and private sector forest certification initiatives, and to focus relentlessly on communicating simple messages to target audiences of architects, designers and civil engineers on the carbon mitigation and forest conservation benefits of using sustainable tropical timber. 

The EU’s trade in tropical wood products was more buoyant in the first nine of months of 2019 than the same period in 2018. However, the rise in imports, which began in the second quarter of 2018, has levelled off since June this year. 

After a reasonable start to the year, UK tropical timber importers report a marked slowdown in business in recent months which they attribute to market nerves surrounding the country’s still unresolved future relationship with the EU.

The Netherlands has traditionally played an important role as a driver of tropical timber demand in the EU. In addition to relatively large timber consumption for water protection works, and a long-term preference for Asian meranti for window frames, the Netherlands acts as a hub for distribution of tropical wood products to other parts of the EU. The Dutch government and private sector have also been influential in development of environmental procurement practices throughout the continent.