Sep 07, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. The US imported 20,657 cubic metres of tropical sawnwood in June 2010, up from 14,652 cubic metres in May. The top three imported species were balsa (5,608 cubic metres), acajou d’Afrique (3,783 cubic metres) and keruing (2,128 cubic metres), ITTO reported. Imports of most species increased from May with the exception of ipe, mahogany, red meranti and padauk. In June, the exports of species from South East Asia and Africa picked up significantly due to the exhausted inventories and low availability from South America. In Brazil, some sawmills have reportedly shut down or the domestic market is consuming all the production leaving no exports to the US. The depreciation of the Euro against the US dollar pushed up the tropical sawnwood imports priced in Euro, e.g. imports from African countries. Year-to-date, import volumes of tropical sawnwood increased by 7% compared to the same period in 2009. Among the species that gained significantly in the period to June 2010 are acajou d’Afrique (+57%), keruing (+47%), red meranti (+43%) and jatoba (+118%). The volumes of tropical sawnwood imported into the US have recovered somewhat from 2009. However, in value terms, imports remain much lower than in 2008, albeit import values have been going up in 2010. Exchange rate fluctuations also have had an influence, first the drop in the value of the US dollar, which further depressed sales to the US market, and recently the weaker Euro favoured sales of products priced in Euro.