Aug 20, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. There is limited forward ordering of tropical hardwood plywood in Germany, France and the Benelux countries and orders in the UK remain very slow, ITTO reported. In recent months, the market for tropical hardwood plywood in the EU has remained finely balanced between very low consumption and limited supply, keeping forward prices broadly level. However, key Asian suppliers are now looking to push up CIF prices on the back of much reduced production levels in East Asia, improved demand in a few markets, notably Japan and the Middle East, and rising freight rates. Freight rates for a 40 ft container between China and Europe increased from around $700 in March to $1100 in July and are expected to rise again to around $1300 in early September. Overall, the rise in freight rates has already increased costs of importing by around $20/cub m.