17.05.2023
ITTO has published its report on tropical timber markets for the second half of April.
One of the main issues is the sharp decline in Vietnam's timber exports. Indeed, in the first 4 months of 2023, forecasts suggest that Vietnam's exports of wood and wood products will amount to US$4.0 billion. This would represent a 28.5% decline from the same period in 2022. Wood product exports alone would have declined by over 35% year-over-year.
Other topics include a reforestation partnership between Indonesia and the Philippines that could catalyze carbon market development in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region; growing demand for U.S. hardwoods in India: U.S. hardwood exports to India reaching a record high in 2022; implementation of ipe and cumaru regulations starting in 2024 in Brazil following their listing in ANNEX II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in November 2022. IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) has in fact set November 2024 as the date for implementing the CITES requirement for the export of these timber species, thus applying the maximum timeframe allowed by CITES.
Also discussed are: Japan's improvement in private consumption but weak spending on durable goods; in China efforts to develop "green" furniture markets in rural areas to create new opportunities for manufacturers in the post-pandemic era; a review of this year's Milan Furniture Fair, which focused on sustainability; U.S. manufacturing activity falling to its lowest level in nearly three years in March 2023, with new orders continuing to contract and activity potentially declining further amid tightening credit conditions.
