China's tropical log imports in 2018 totalled 11.06 million cubic metres up 15% year-on-year and accounted for 19% of the national total, a year-on-year increase of 2 percentage points. The value of tropical log imports in 2018 was $3.456 billion reflecting a 21% rise, as ITTO reported.
Before its log export ban, Myanmar was a major source of tropical logs for China. However, China’s log imports from Myanmar in 2018 fell to just 13,935 cubic metres valued at $19 million, down 30% in volume and 4% in value.
The average price for imported logs from Myanmar surged in 2018 to $1,364 per cubic metre, up 37% over 2017.
The average price for imported tropical logs in 2018 was $312 per cubic metre, a year-on-year rise of 6%. China imported tropical logs mainly from Papua New Guinea (32%), Solomon Islands (25%), Equatorial Guinea (11%), Cameroon (6%) and the Republic of Congo (5%). Just 14 countries supplied 95% of China’s tropical log requirements in 2018.
Log imports from Sierra Leone, Suriname, Central Africa, Ecuador and Liberia surged 218%, 118%, 108%, 99% and 72% in 2018 respectively. In addition, tropical log imports from Cameroon, PNG, Equatorial Guinea and Laos also rose 33%, 22%, 17% and 17% respectively. Countries from which tropical log imports declined greatly included Nigeria (-33%), the Republic of Congo (-30%) and Ghana (-15%).
