In addition to log exports, woodchip exports are also on the rise, with China Customs reporting that Australian exporters were responsible for more than 228,000 cubic metres of wood chips through China in March\u2014an increase of 3.8% from last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It comes as Wood Central reported earlier this month that\u00a0<\/em>New Zealand radiata pine\u2014by far China’s largest market for log imports\u2014is now responsible for 85% of logs “jammed” at Chinese ports<\/a>, with PF Olsen reporting that more than 3.4 million cubic metres of NZ logs are awaiting delivery at China’s mega ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to PF Olsen’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Scott Downs, the daily off-take at Chinese ports is 60,000 cubic metres per day, which means that as of late March, “there are over two months of inventory in China.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n More broadly, Chinese total log imports jumped to almost 2.4 million cubic metres for March, with New Zealand (responsible for more than 70% of total imports), Japan (5.9%), Poland (4.8%), Canada (4.4%), Germany (4%), and Australia (2.7%) being the country’s largest markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the total increase in imports could mask a long-term slowdown in logs with Rudolf van Rensburg, the co-author of China\u2014Forest, Log & Lumber Outlook, forecasting that China will pivot from raw logs to lumber imports (now dominated by Russia), thanks to a slowdown in global harvesting in log markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We anticipate that the growth in Chinese lumber exports will offset the decline in log exports amid a ban on log exports from Ukraine and Russia, bark beetle infestations in Europe, and a slowdown in NZ harvesting,” Mr van Rensburg told Wood Central.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"View](\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/shutterstock_1437051494-fotor-20240402133428-1024x682.jpg\")
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