Prices for roundwood keep declining на Belarusian commodity exchange

Prices for industrial timber continue to decline at the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange, Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) reported.

“In Q4 2021, the price for roundwood in the domestic market continued to decline. For example, prices for high-quality softwood of A and B grades plummeted by an average of 35%, and low-quality timber – by 30%,” BUCE said.

According to BUCE analysts, the downward price trend was facilitated primarily by the annual auctions in timber, with 60% of the planned annual volume put up for sale, rather than 40% as in previous years. In addition, BUCE applied a new bidding mechanism with a division into consumer sections without restrictions as to the number of participants. As a result, manufacturers of different types of products did not have to compete with each other for the same resource, which prevented an unreasonable increase in prices for the most popular types of raw materials.

In general, by the end of 2021, prices for industrial timber stabilized and the decline in quotations was no longer as significant as in October- November. Prices for round hardwood, depending on the variety, diameter and terms of delivery, reduced by 5% in December over November, high-quality softwood of A and B grades went down by 6%, and low-quality raw materials of coniferous species of grades C and D – by 5%.