International Tropical Timber Organization

International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) International Organizations Center - 5th Floor, Pacifico-Yokohama

Market Information Service (MIS) 1-1-1 Minato-Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-0012, Japan

E-mail: mis@itto.or.jp Website: http://www.itto.or.jp

Tropical Timber Market Report since 1990

Volume 13 Number 7, 1-15 April 2008

The ITTO Tropical Timber Market (TTM) Report, an output of the ITTO Market Information Service (MIS), is

published in English every two weeks with the aim of improving transparency in the international tropical timber

market. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of ITTO. News may be reprinted without

charge provided that the ITTO TTM Report is credited. A copy of the publication should be sent to the editor.

Snapshot

West African prices were stable, but expected to show

some volatility as the US and UK economies continued to

struggle. Prices for Malaysian rubberwood rose due to

increased demand for raw latex. In contrast, no price

changes were reported in Indonesia as a result of port

strikes caused by changes to Indonesian legislation on

ports. However, the strikes gave a further boost to

Malaysian prices. Yearly trends of Myanmar log prices

also showed limited changes over the April 2007 – April

2008 period.

Crackdowns on illegal logging continued in Ghana,

Brazil, Peru and the EU. Ghana’s Forestry Commission

worked with military and police teams to prevent illegal

operations in the country. Brazil’s IBAMA stopped illegal

timber from passing through Santerém port and created a

website to show forested areas where logging activities

had been suspended. Peru announced plans to revise

mahogany sawnwood yield calculations in an effort to

comply with provisions under the US-Peru Free Trade

Agreement. The EC had also been looking into EU-wide

legislation to prevent imports of illegal wood.

Contents

Central/West Africa 2

Ghana 2

Malaysia 3

Indonesia 4

Myanmar 4

Brazil 5

Peru 6

Bolivia 7

Guyana 7

Japan 8

China 9

Europe and the UK 10

Internet News 13

Currencies and Abbreviations 14

Ocean Freight Index 14

Appendix: Tropical Timber Price Trends 14

Headlines

Prices surge across the board for Malaysian timber products 3

Port strikes stall movement of Indonesian prices 4

IBAMA tightens control on illegal logging in the Amazon 5

Brazil’s exports jump 14% February 2008 6

INRENA announces plans to revise yield rates 6

Guyana’s furniture exports leap 30% in March 2008 7

Imported plywood volume to Japan plunges 30% in February 8

Solidwood flooring shows strong growth in Guangdong 9

EU statistical analysis shows weak demand for tropical timber in 2007 10

EU deliberates on illegal wood legislation 11

EC reacts to Russian export duty hikes 12

EU tightens sanctions on Myanmar timber 12

2 ITTO TTM Report 13:7 1-15 April 2008

Report from Central/West Africa

Greater price volatility amid sagging US and UK

economies

Log prices have re-adjusted to their recent median levels.

With the current strains on the US and European

economies and the IMF’s low growth forecasts for UK and

US, it is likely that prices for logs and lumber will become

more volatile through 2008. Price movements, both

upwards and downwards may tend to be larger for

European buyers who are more nervous about making

long-term purchase contracts and revert to a ‘just in time’

...