Global Wood Price Trends in the Second Half of 2023

Since 2023, the global timber market has undergone many changes. Today, based on the situation of various markets in the first half of the year, let's briefly analyze the changes in global timber prices in the next six months.
African wood
After the entry into force of Appendix 2 of the latest CITES, as of April this year, the volume of timber exported from Africa to Vietnam has dropped to the lowest level in many years;
The demand from the Chinese market also continued to be weak in the first half of this year, resulting in relatively stable offshore prices for African timber in the first half of this year. Based on this year's market demand analysis, it is expected that African material prices will continue to maintain a stable trend in the second half of the year.
European materials
Affected by high inflation and reduced demand in the European economy, several sawmills in Europe announced production cuts in the first half of this year, and timber prices also decreased. In order to clean up inventory, German beech exports to China surged by 105% in May, but prices did not rise. Referring to the surge in energy prices in Europe last year, it is expected that wood prices in Europe will rise from autumn and winter in the second half of the year.
South American timber
In the six months since the new President Lula took office, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon region has decreased by 33.6%. With the decrease in logging volume, the offshore price of Brazilian timber has been steadily increasing since last year, and it is expected that the upward trend will continue in the second half of this year.
North American timber
For Canada, the ongoing wildfires in the first half of the year have had a significant impact. According to the Nasdaq Index, wood futures prices have risen by nearly 16% compared to the low of $483 in June. July August is still the peak period for wildfires, and with inventory continuing to decrease, it is expected that the trend of Canadian wood prices rising in the second half of the year will continue for some time.
Oceania
In the first half of this year, China, as a major importer of radiation pine from New Zealand, did not show significant growth in demand, resulting in low price fluctuations. Although the timber market in New Zealand has recovered from the hurricane, it is expected that the price of radial pine logs will not increase significantly before the recovery of China's construction industry.
As of the first half of this year, China's imported logs have decreased by 9.3% year-on-year, totaling 20.31 million meters ³; The quantity of sawn timber increased by 11.4% year-on-year, totaling 14.31 million meters ³. This year, the furniture market is gradually warming up, and it is expected that the import volume of sawn timber will steadily increase in the second half of this year, and there will be no significant price fluctuations.