EU timber trade / China´s wood deficit

EU to adopt law on timber trade

The EU is now close to adopting the long discussed timber trading law aimed at banning the import and trade of illegally harvested timber products in the EU. After eight years of dispute between the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council about the content of the legislation, an agreement has finally been reached. Still, the Council has to vote in favor of the legislation, but this is seen as a formality. The law will most likely come into force by 2012 and will place the burden of proof for legality on the first operator to place timber on the EU market. Print products are assumed to be exempt from the law for the first 5 years. (Sources: EUWID, Wood Supply)

China's wood deficit set to reach 150 million m3 by 2015

China's continued economic growth, which is predicted to be around 10% per annum for 2010 and 2011, creates a strong demand for timber imports as the domestic production of timber, which is the world's fourth largest, cannot keep up with consumption. A recent study by Int. Wood Markets predicts a wood deficit of 150 million m3 by 2015, a volume that exceeds the entire annual Canadian timber harvest. (Sources: IMF, Int. Wood Markets).

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The International Woodland Company A/S