China: Decline in log imports from all the main suppliers

According to China Customs the volume of log imports from all the main suppliers in 2022 declined except for PNG where import volumes rose 8% to 2.34 million m³ valued at $549 million, up 11% YoY.

New Zealand and Germany were main suppliers for China’s log imports and the proportion supplied by the two countries was 55% of the national total in 2022. New Zealand was the largest supplier of logs to China’s in 2022 accounting for 41% of the national total, up 9% from 2021. China’s log imports from New Zealand were 17.75 million m³ valued at $2.689 billion, down 13% in volume and down 20% in value. The average price for imported logs from New Zealand was $151 (CIF) per m³.

Germany was ranked the second for log imports to China in 2022 making up 14% of the national total but, down 5% from 2021. China’s log imports from Germany totalled 5.96 million m³ valued at $1.024 billion, down 51% in volume and down 47% in value. The average price for imported logs from Germany was $172 (CIF) per m³.

China’s log imports from Russia plummeted 65%, from USA, Solomon Islands, France and Brazil log imports also declined sharply.