The latest The ITTO Tropical Timber Market (TTM) Report recorded that EU27 imports of tropical wood and wooden furniture products in the first six months of 2021 were at the highest level for a decade. But perhaps surprisingly, even this has not led to an increase in share for tropical products in the EU market. EU27 imports from non-tropical countries have increased even more rapidly.
In fact, the extraordinary market conditions that have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic have driven total EU27 imports of wood and wooden furniture products this year close to the record levels of 2007 and 2008, just prior to the global financial crises.
Total EU27 import value of wood and wooden furniture in the first six months of this year was US$9.7 billion, 38% more than in the same period in 2020. Import value of tropical products was US$1.88 billion, 26% more than the same period in 2020. However, import value from nontropical regions was US$7.82 billion, a 42% increase.
Imports were up by 44% from China to US$2.42 billion, by 50% from Russia to US$1.43 billion, by 71% from Belarus to US$810 million, and by 50% from Ukraine to US$770 million.
Of course, the comparison to a particularly slow trading period during the first lockdown last year makes this year’s rise seem even larger. But trade this year is unprecedented even compared to the long-term. Total EU27 imports were valued at US$1.86 billion in June this year, by far the largest amount of any single month in the last decade.
Monthly import values this high have only ever before been seen in the boom years of 2007 and 2008, just before the crash brought on by the global financial crises.