China seen increasing forest exports, needs imports

Jan 25, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. China is likely to increase output of products such as timber, furniture and pulp and paper from its own forests in the next few years, the United Nations said, as Reuters agency informed Lesprom Network. But it will also remain heavily dependent on imported wood for forest products, a study by the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said. The emergence of China as a major player in the forest sector had provided important export opportunities for many countries but also increased competition for other producers, especially in furniture, the study said. "Production in several sectors, notably furniture, continues to be oriented primarily towards the export market. As China's wealth increases, its own consumption of wood products is likely to grow apace," it said. China is already the world's biggest exporter of furniture, having overtaken Italy in 2005. It is the fifth biggest exporter of forest products as a whole, with some 8% of the total. But demand for raw material exceeds China's own forest capacity, and it has become the world's third largest importer of forest products with 9% of the total. With 195.5 million hectares, including 119.7 million of natural forest, China has the fifth largest forest area in the world, but it covers only one fifth of the country's land area. The forest sector accounted for 4.8% of gross domestic product in 2008, the study said.