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rawpixel.com The bulk of import demand has shifted from Japan and,
to a lesser extent, South Korea, Taiwan and EU countries
(who together accounted for 78 percent of world imports in
1990 but for only nine percent in 2021) to mainly China and

India, which were responsible for 62 percent and 16 percent,
respectively, of world imports in 2021, compared with four
percent and five percent in 1990.
Trends in global imports of tropical logs since 2010 have
largely reflected demand in China’s domestic market and its
export markets for SPWPs. China has diversified its tropical
log sources from predominantly Southeast Asia to the Pacific
and Africa.
These changes reflect the relative competitiveness of Major trends in tropical log exports include a progressive

plywood processing in the major producer countries and decline in exports from Malaysia with the shrinking availability
growth in domestic plywood demand in China and India. of resources though SFM initiatives; and a decline in
Other notable trends include the declining availability exports from the Mekong subregion in response to a
of large-diameter peeler quality logs, significant changes general decline in the availability of industrial roundwood
in production technology, rising production costs, and the from natural forests due to historical overexploitation,
increased availability of panel substitute products. various government measures to limit harvesting in natural
China and Vietnam have become the major tropical forests, restrictions on exports of primary wood products,

manufacturing hubs for secondary processed wood products and national and international measures to control illegal
(SPWPs). Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are also important logging and cross-border trade.
tropical SPWP producers based on plantation timbers. Africa’s export focus has changed from EU countries to
Tropical producer countries, however, are generally China, while Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are now
characterised by low levels of investment in wood technology, the top exporters of tropical logs, which go overwhelmingly
manufacturing, marketing, and research and development. to China.
Moreover, the preponderance of SMEs has exposed tropical Tropical log exports have been affected by trade restrictions
producers during global economic shocks because of limitations imposed by exporter countries, particularly quantitative restrictions
to their access to finance, negotiating power, and ability to on exports of unprocessed logs, quotas on exports of certain

respond quickly when markets recover. products and species, and log export taxes.
Although restrictions on exports of unprocessed logs led
Trade Moves East to increased domestic wood-processing capacity (e.g. in
World trade in tropical industrial roundwood has trended Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines), this has often come
downwards since 1990, with notable declines in 1997, 2007 at a high economic cost in the form of subsidisation and
and 2020 in response to global economic shocks and with inefficiencies—low log-conversion efficiencies are associated
peaks in 1990, 2000 and 2014 when demand in import with industrial overcapacity and high rates of deforestation.

markets surged. Major trends in the tropical sawnwood trade since 1990
Major changes in the directions of trade have also occurred. have been the decline in importance of Europe (particularly