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Timber industry in Guangxi severely affected by Chinese wooden furniture has lost competitiveness and
rainstorms companies are reluctant to take large orders from US buyers,
Since May 2026, Guangxi has experienced multiple rounds preferring to reduced their business in the US.
of extreme heavy rainfall. As a result, buyers in the US are increasingly turning to
The core wood panel production areas have been Vietnam and Mexico. The tariffs applied to these two countries
continuously battered by heavy rain resulting in problems such are only around 10 percent giving them a significant cost

as waterlogging, flooding in factories, wet raw materials and advantage over China.
disruption of logistics. The US market for wooden furniture has experienced a
This has brought a short-term severe impact on over 4,200 sharp decline while the European Union has seen a steady
wood panel enterprises in the region. increase which has mainly benefitted SE Asian shippers.
Guangxi, as the Wood Panel Capital of Southern China, China's wooden furniture exports have rapidly diversified.
is a key supplier of wood-based panels, plywood and Despite the drop in the value of China’s wooden furniture
decorative panels. Its output accounts for a high proportion exports to the US, total wooden furniture exports in the first
of the national total. quarter 2026 rose two percent to US$5.4 billion over the same
The latest heavy rain began in mid-May and lasted for period in 2025 due to the rise in exports to UK, Germany

nearly two months with the intensity continuously increasing. and the Netherland.
It precisely covered the core area of the industrial cluster and The value of China’s wooden furniture exports to UK,
became a key variable affecting the operation of timber industry. Germany and Netherland grew 18 percent, 36 percent and
As of 6 July 2026, Guangxi was still experiencing heavy 28 percent respectively. In addition, exports to both Australia
rainfall and flood prevention and disaster relief activities continue. and France rose nine percent in the first quarter of 2026.
It has been reported that all wood processing enterprises In contrast, China’s wooden furniture exports to Japan,
in Guigang City have halted production and stopped shipping. South Korea and Saudi Arabia fell six percent, five percent

Factories in other major production areas such as Nanning, and one percent respectively in the first quarter of 2026.
Qinzhou and Liuzhou Cities have also stopped production. China’s wooden furniture is exported to more than 200
The heavy rain continues and the wood panel industry countries. The value of China’s furniture exports to the top
in Guangxi is currently in a critical stage of resisting disaster 10 countries accounted for only 65 percent of the national
and repairing for a resumption of production. total wooden furniture exports in the first quarter of 2026.

Decline in wooden furniture exports to US Surge in plywood exports to Myanmar
According to China Customs, the value of China’s wooden furniture According to China Customs, plywood exports to Myanmar
exports to US dropped 13 percent in the first quarter of 2026. surged over 600% in the first quarter of 2026.

The US was the largest destination for China’s wooden This was the result of a combination of four factors, China's
furniture exports. 25 percent of China’s wooden furniture was production capacity advantage, the domestic supply-demand
exported to US in the first quarter of 2026 but the share of gap in Myanmar, the convenient geographical logistics and
the US market continues to decline. bilateral trade policies.
Exports of wooden furniture from China to the US have This growth of exports is expected to continue throughout
decreased mainly due to the impact of US tariffs as well as the year since China has become the main source for
anti-dumping and anti-subsidies on China’s wooden furniture. Myanmar's plywood imports.