Report Shows Increased Global Trade of Wood Chips in Past 10 Years, Japan and China Rank Highest
The global importation of wood chips has increased over the past 10 years, reaching the “second highest import levels on record in 2012” at just over 31 million tons, according to the Wood Resources Quarterly market report. The report indicated that the 2012 global chip trade was valued at over $5 billion, “slightly below the all-time high in 2011.”
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The report said Japan and China ranked as the highest importing countries in 2012, with a combined 83 percent of the world’s total imports, followed by Finland and Turkey. Though Japan is still the world’s largest chip importer, Wood Resources International said China will likely surpass Japan as the world’s largest importer due to its expansion of pulp production capacity and a lack of domestic fiber sources. The firm also said global trade of wood chips would continue to increase because “there are limited forest resources in some of the countries which are expanding industry capacity” and “some forest companies are making the strategic decision to diversity their supply sources and import wood chips rather than procure marginal fiber supplies locally.”
The quarterly report is (here).