In June 2023, the average price of imported softwood logs in Japan was 31% lower then year ago.
Market share
The U.S. share surged by an impressive 15.0 percentage points, reaching 21% of Japan's total wood pellets imports in the first half of 2023.
In June, the average price for wood chips for the first time since the beginning of the year was lower than a year ago.
Essity has completed the divestment of its operations in Russia for a purchase price of approximately SEK 1.2 billion ($117 million) on a cash and debt-free basis.The buyer is the company New Technologies LLC, with the principal owner Igor Shilov.
China has become the only major market for Russian lumber producers after Western sanctions were imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Without sales to Europe, the sawmills of the North-West of Russia rushed to conquer China, where they faced competition from Siberian and Far Eastern sawmills.