Decrease in softwood lumber imports

Article by Jakob Wassermann (translated by Eva Guzely) | 22.01.2025 - 09:26

Last year, China reduced its softwood lumber imports by 8% to 16.6 million m³. While nearly all of the EU-27 supplying countries recorded losses, China imported much bigger volumes from Belarus, New Zealand and the US.

At 11.3 million m³, China purchased around two thirds of its foreign softwood lumber from Russia last year. This corresponds to a 5% decrease compared to 2023. Approximately 1.2 million m³ each were imported from Canada and Belarus. Shipments from Canada decreased by 2%, though, while those from Belarus grew strongly by 29% compared to 2023.

China imported 3 million m³ from EU-27 countries last year, i.e. around a quarter less than in 2023. As a result, the share of EU member states in total Chinese imports fell by 4 percentage points to 18%, as figures published by China Customs Statistics show. In 2024, Finland (621,000 m³; -29%), Germany (442,000 m³; -38%) and Sweden (419,000 m³; -48%)

More softwood lumber, on the other hand, was imported from New Zealand (236,000 m³; +16%) and the US (222,000 m³, +55%).

In our Datacube, you can find the detailed development of Chinese softwood lumber imports over time.