Marked decrease in softwood log imports

Article by Martina Nöstler (translated by Eva Guzely) | 21.11.2023 - 14:50

While Chinese log imports from New Zealand grew slightly by 1% in the period January to October, volumes from Germany decreased sharply by 38%. The biggest relative increase, i.e. +154%, was recorded in shipments coming from Poland.

In the first ten months, China imported 23 million m³ of softwood logs, recording a year-on-year decrease of 9% or 2.25 million m³. It was the smallest overall import volume in this period since the Holzkurier started tracking Chinese imports in 2017. At the time, 23.3 million m³ had been imported from January to October. In 2021, imports even totaled 41.8 million m³.

In the first ten months, China imported 14.4 million m³ from New Zealand, i.e. 1% more than in the same period of 2022. Big increases were also recorded in shipments coming from Japan (1.1 million m³ +26%) and, most of all, Poland (901,000 m³; +154%).

Meanwhile, softwood log imports from Germany (2.8 million m³; -38%) and France (269,000 m³; -38%) saw marked decreases.

Data are collected and published by China Customs Statistics.