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Forest products markets climb to new
records in the UNECE region
in 2003 and 2004
Geneva, 19 August
2004 - The United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE) just released
the UNECE/FAO Forest Products Annual
Market Review, 2003-2004. It covers
forest products market and policy developments
in the UNECE region of Europe, North America
and the CIS countries. Its main findings
are:
- Forest products markets rose to
new records overall in the UNECE region
(up 1.3% to 1.3 billion m3) as evidenced
by the second consecutive year of
rising consumption; however, this
development was not universal among
all subregions, nor among all products.
- Approaching two million housing
starts in 2003, the United States
was the engine for demand of forest
products, both primary and secondary,
in the UNECE region, while outside
the region Chinese and Japanese imports
soared for temperate and tropical
wood.
- China’s exports of value-added
wood products, especially furniture,
have increasingly impacted markets
in the UNECE region, and in mid-2004,
the US imposed anti-dumping duties
of up to nearly 200%.
- Concern for the origins of wood
products imported into the UNECE region,
and increasing awareness of illegal
logging, led government agencies,
industry associations and international
organizations to initiate measures
to curb the trade in such products.
- Certified forest products markets
are being driven, in part, by government
purchasing policies that ensure sustainable
forest management and legality of
the source of their purchases.
- Wood energy promotion policies
and record high oil prices resulted
in heightened consumption of wood
for energy; however, the pulp and
panel sectors are concerned about
raw material costs.
- Sawn softwood demand rose strongly
in western Europe (up 5% to 79 million
m3) and Japan in 2003 and European
exporters profited, while in the US,
imports continued to rise, despite
a weak dollar, benefiting traditional
Canadian exporters as well as European
and other offshore sources.
- Despite rhetoric to reduce tariff
and non-tariff barriers, the ongoing
sawnwood trade dispute between Canada
and the US continues and the EU has
imposed some punitive tariffs that
have affected wood and paper products
markets.
- The sawn hardwood sector strengthened
with rising demand and prices in the
US and Europe, fuelled by increased
housing starts in Europe and North
America.
- Panel markets benefited from rising
demand, achieving consumption records
(up 17% in Russia, up 14% in central
and eastern Europe, up 4% in western
Europe and up 1% in North America),
and higher prices; however, the competition
is fierce in this global market for
commodity products.
- Paper consumption climbed strongly,
by 5%, in central and eastern Europe
and in Russia by 12%; however, western
Europe demand remained steady, and
North American demand continued to
erode.
*****
The Forest Products
Annual Market Review begins with
an overview of forest products markets
and policies, followed by a chapter focusing
on policy issues related to forest products
markets. These are followed by analyses
of the economic factors affecting the
forest and forest industries sector. Statistics-based
chapters are included for markets of sawn
softwood, sawn hardwood, wood-based panels,
paper, paperboard and woodpulp, wood raw
materials and tropical timber. Other chapters
highlight the rapid developments in forest
products certification, as well as value-added
wood products, e.g. furniture. The Review
concludes with a chapter on tropical timber
markets.
Copies of the Review
may be obtained from the web site homepage
of the UNECE Timber Committee and the
FAO European Forestry Commission, or from
the postal address below. For further
information please contact:
Mr. Ed Pepke
Forest Products Marketing Specialist
UNECE/FAO Timber Branch
Trade Development and Timber Division
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 2872
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0041
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org/trade/timber
Ref: ECE/TIM/04/P02