According to PF Olsen, the government passed an ordinance at the beginning of July without any prior announcement. Taicang was China’s second biggest port for softwood imports and received about 20% of China’s overall softwood import volume.
The forestry service provider continues: “China has made similar decisions before and they have only disrupted the timber market for a short while. In 2018, over 3,000 wood processing companies in Hebei Province were ordered to stop or relocate their production as part of the government’s “Three-Year Plan for Blue Skies”. In 2019, the local government of Shenzhen decided to relocate the sawmills to use the land for other industries.”
According to PF Olsen, softwood stock levels have risen to around 5.5 million m³ in China, while daily purchases have fallen to approximately 60,000 m³ in the port. In the past few years, 75,000 m³ were purchased every day.
