The mild winter made the log harvest in Russia more difficult and COVID-19 led to a lack of workers in Siberian sawmills. For these reasons, Russian exports to China fell by 1 million m³ or 14% year on year. Canadian shipments plummeted by 46%, which is due to relatively expensive raw material and considerable production curtailments.
According to Customs Statistics China, the US sold already 500,000 m³ (+261%) to China.
With the exception of Finland (422,000 m³; -18%), Europeans are also the winners on the Chinese market with Sweden (404,000 m³; +56%), Ukraine (350,000 m³; +12%) and Germany (330,000 m³; +34%) recording double-digit increases.
The development of Belarusian shipments is particularly noticeable: In five months, shipments grew by 212,000 m³, i.e. by 150% compared to the same period of last year.
China softwood sawn timber import (1,000 m³) January to May 2020
| Country | 1-5 2019 | 1-5 2020 | Diff. in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 7,043 | 6,063 | –14 |
| Canada | 2,260 | 1,212 | –46 |
| USA | 139 | 503 | 261 |
| Finland | 513 | 422 | –18 |
| Sweden | 259 | 404 | 56 |
| Ukraine | 313 | 349 | 12 |
| Germany | 246 | 330 | 34 |
| Chile | 228 | 233 | 2 |
| Belarus | 85 | 212 | 149 |
| New Zealand | 122 | 114 | –6 |
| Other countries | 399 | 546 | 37 |
| Total | 11,607 | 10,388 | –11 |
