New Zealand, the leading softwood log exporter in the world, increased log shipments to India and South Korea during the first five months of 2016, while exports to China were down, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ).
With total shipments trending higher, log export prices have gone up by 36% from September of 2015 to May 2016.
New Zealand continues to be the world’s leading exporter of softwood logs followed by Russia and the US. These three countries accounted for almost 50% of globally traded logs in 2015, with a majority being destined for the Chinese market.
New Zealand is exporting over 50% of the country’s total harvest in log form. In 2015, New Zealand exported 14.7 million m3 of radiata pine logs, of which almost ten million m3 was shipped to China.
This was down from a record high of almost 12 million m3 in 2013. In late 2015 and early 2016, Chinese log buyers became more active in the New Zealand log market with shipments increasing from 1.8 million m3 in the 3Q 2015 to 2.5 million m3 in the 1Q 2016.
However, during the first five months of 2016, total NZ shipments to Asia have increased slightly with 2016 year-to-date volumes being two percent higher than the same period in 2015. The biggest rises so far this year have been in shipments to India and South Korea, while exports to China were down 10%.
