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Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Antidumping investigations and the imposition of antidumping
the United Kingdom), which has traditionally been an important duties have affected the country’s imports of tropical plywood
market for tropical sawnwood, particularly from Africa; and from China, with importers diversifying their sources with other
the significant growth of China’s tropical sawnwood imports, tropical plywood suppliers.

which reflects China’s domestic consumption and demand from The tropical plywood export trade has been dominated by
the country’s export-oriented wood manufacturing industries, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, with export trends
particularly wooden furniture and flooring, as well as the reflecting the relative competitiveness of these countries, related
relative competitiveness of tropical sawnwood manufactured mainly to supply-side issues, specifically access to supplies
from imported tropical logs. of peeler logs of an appropriate quality and international
Exports of tropical sawnwood have transitioned from concerns about legal sourcing and governance.
products sourced predominantly from natural forests to those In 1996, the peak year, Indonesia supplied 52 percent
sourced from plantations. There have been significant declines of world exports and Malaysia supplied 29 percent, but
in sawnwood exports from Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia, exports by China and Vietnam were small. China became a

but Thailand’s exports of plantation-grown rubberwood have major exporter in the 2000s and Vietnam has emerged more
grown since 2009, almost all of which has gone to China’s recently (since 2017).
wooden furniture industry.
Furniture Growth
Lower Japanese Imports There has been significant growth in the value of exports of
Plywood is the major tropical wood-based panel product, SPWPs from tropical countries, from USD 1.7 billion in 1990
although its production and trade has declined since the to USD 14.7 billion in 2000 and to USD 36.1 billion in 2022.

1990s, when tropical plywood dominated the trade in wood- This has been driven by exports of wooden furniture from
based panels. China and other tropical exporters, notably Vietnam; the share
A major change in tropical plywood imports has been of wooden furniture in total SPWP exports (by value) from
the decline in Japan’s imports because of factors including: tropical countries increased from 28 percent in 1990, to 57
a shift in demand to domestic plywood in response to the percent in 2000, to 75 percent in 2022.
declining availability and relatively high prices of South Sea The bulk of exports are from the Asia Pacific region.
plywood; the risk of exchange-rate fluctuations (which affect Vietnam and other tropical exporters have benefited from US
imported plywood but not Japanese plywood manufactured antidumping measures on imports from China.
from domestic materials); government promotion aimed at The dominant markets for SPWP imports are countries with

expanding domestic wood use; and consumer concerns about developed economies. Global demand for wooden furniture
the environmental consequences of using tropical hardwoods. and joinery products follows trends in housing starts and
Technology changes also enabled industry to transition consumer spending in the European Union and the US and in
from the use of tropical hardwoods to softwoods. the competitiveness of imported compared with domestically
Tropical plywood imports into the US are linked closely produced products.
to housing and construction trends, with imports accelerating Imports of wooden furniture have grown considerably
between 2017 to 2021 amid surging economic growth and worldwide since 1990, especially in Australia, EU countries,

housing starts, in addition to do-it-yourself home improvements Japan, South Korea and the US. FDM
and repairs during the Covid-19 pandemic. ENQUIRY NO. 1001