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Joran Quinten China in the first quarter of 2024. China’s log imports from
New Zealand still was the largest supplier of logs to

New Zealand rose 13 percent to 4.29 million cubic metres
valued at US$552 million, both up 12 percent over the same

period of 2023. The average CIF price for log imports from
New Zealand fell two percent to US$129 per cubic metre.
The proportion of China’s log imports from New Zealand
accounted for 48 percent of the total log imports volume.

Home furnishing enterprises relocating overseas
China's home furnishing manufacturing industry has been
steadily relocating overseas, in the past it was mainly based
on contract manufacturing for export back to China.

More and more of China’s home furnishing enterprises
have begun to expand and diversify their overseas operations
in recent years. Many well-known domestic home furnishing
companies announced that they would open stores overseas
with their own brands targeting the Indian and Southeast
Asian markets with mid-to-high-end products.
The driving force behind the trend in relocating is the

weak domestic demand and a real estate market that will
take years to recover.
On the downside, some overseas countries have low
urbanisation rates, an undeveloped real estate sector with
Sharp decline in log imports from Germany diminished potential and a weak domestic industrial base
China’s log imports from Germany dropped 65 percent to whereas Chinese brands have begun to have international
413,000 cubic metres valued at US$62 million, both declining competitiveness in design, production and marketing after
by 68 percent in the first quarter of 2024. years of development.
The average CIF price for China’s log imports from Germany The biggest issue for the long term for Chinese home

fell 10 percent to US$150 per cubic metre. furnishing industries is that growth in domestic demand is
The dramatic decline in China’s log imports from Germany forecast to continue to decline due to the aging population,
was because the Russia-Ukraine conflict has led to a general falling birth rate and weakness in the housing sector.
rise in energy prices in Europe and the costs of major According to data recently released by the National Bureau
manufacturing and industrial production in Germany have of Statistics, retail sales of consumer goods in 2023 reached
increased significantly. RMB47.15 trillion, an increase of seven percent over 2022.
Germany has lost its position as the second largest After the epidemic containment measures were lifted

supplier of log to China, ranking just sixth in the first many sectors saw a rise in consumption for example catering
quarter of 2024. which increased by 21 percent year-on-year, jewellery sales