Tag: Market Report

Feedback received by the EC on their “fitness check” of the FLEGT and EUTR regulations indicates a high degree of consensus amongst European organisations and interests on the broad aims and objectives of the policy and legislative instruments.

Timber trading activity across the EU continues at an extremely low level as countries emerge slowly and uncertainly from the coronavirus lockdown. Many companies have temporarily closed or curtailed operations, pushed back orders and have been asking for longer payment terms.

The COVID-19 situation in Europe is on a knife-edge. The numbers of new cases and deaths have stabilised and are beginning to decline in the worst affected countries, which include Italy, the UK and Spain. This has led to calls for the lockdown measures, which have been in place now throughout large parts of Europe for over six weeks, to be eased as the detrimental effects on economic activity, education, mental health and general well-being are becoming increasingly obvious.

It is ironic that in 2019, just before the market chaos created by COVID-19, the EU recorded its strongest year for wood furniture imports since 2007. That was, of course, when the last consumer boom was at its peak just prior to the market meltdown of the financial crises.

Economic forecasts issued only a few weeks ago in Europe, which projected continuing slow increase this year in GDP and business activity in sectors critical to the timber industry, such as construction and furniture, will need to be completely revised in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak. 

Despite a downturn in the last six months of 2019, EU imports of tropical wood products last year were greater than in 2018. In 2019, the EU28 imported 2.13 million tonnes of tropical wood products (including all those in HS Chapter 44 except fuelwood, wood waste and chips) with a total value of €2.32 billion, respectively 1.5% and 3.2% greater than the previous year. This was the second consecutive year of import growth after a dip in 2017.