This report explores some of the opportunities for, and challenges associated with, exporting wood products to China. Five topics are examined: an overview of trends in forestry and forest products in China, export opportunities and challenges for U.S. primary wood producers (Study 1), export opportunities and challenges for U.S. secondary wood producers (Study 2), relevant barriers to trade, and a compilation of state export resources. This work is based on observations from three trade missions to China (March 2004, March 2005, and July 2006), interviews with persons knowledgeable with hardwood markets in China, and two surveys of Chinese forest products business groups.

This report explores some of the opportunities for, and challenges associated with, exporting wood products to China. Five topics are examined: an overview of trends in forestry and forest products in China, export opportunities and challenges for U.S. primary wood producers (Study 1), export opportunities and challenges for U.S. secondary wood producers (Study 2), relevant barriers to trade, and a compilation of state export resources. This work is based on observations from three trade missions to China (March 2004, March 2005, and July 2006), interviews with persons knowledgeable with hardwood markets in China, and two surveys of Chinese forest products business groups.

China’s demand for timber has increased dramatically over the past 20 years; today more than 90% of Mozambican timber exports are destined for China. Demand for forest products present both opportunities and challenges for Mozambique. As the country’s sixth largest export, timber represents one of the most important industries and sources of income, yet the intensified search for resources puts pressure on the sustainable management of the forests. In an attempt to generate greater domestic value-added and employment through local processing of roundwood an export ban on first-class timber in the form of logs has been put in place. The effect of this ban on processing activity is however debatable. The share of illegal activity in the timber industry is estimated to be large. Integrating these illegal activities into the formal economy could generate significant revenues for the government in the form of taxation, as well as greater control and oversight of logging activities than what is currently possible. Through the research project titled “Chinese Trade and Investment in Africa: Assessing and Governing Trade-Offs to National Economies, Local Livelihoods and Forest Ecosystems” CIFOR wishes to gain a better understanding of the impact increased demand and investment from China have on the Miombo forests. This report forms part of the case study on Mozambique, and is intended to give an overview of the domestic value chain and the companies operating in the timber industry, based on data collected through field research on the timber activities in the province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique.

In less than three decades, China has grown from playing a negligible role in international trade to being one of the world's largest exporters, a substantial importer of raw materials, intermediate outputs, and other goods, and both a recipient and source of foreign investment. Not surprisingly, China's economic dynamism has generated considerable attention and concern in the United States and beyond. While some analysts have warned of the potential pitfalls of China's rise—the loss of jobs, for example—others have highlighted the benefits of new market and investment opportunities for US firms. Bringing together an expert group of contributors, China's Growing Role in World Trade undertakes an empirical investigation of the effects of China's new status. The essays collected here provide detailed analyses of the microstructure of trade, the macroeconomic implications, sector-level issues, and foreign direct investment. This volume's careful examination of micro data in light of established economic theories clarifies a number of misconceptions, disproves some conventional wisdom, and documents data patterns that enhance our understanding of China's trade and what it may mean to the rest of the world.

Summarizes volume and values of U.S. trade in wood products from 1978 to 2005. Import and export data are shown for 21 commodities aggregated from over 1,700 wood products. Trade in each commodity is delineated by trading partner and shipments through each of the four regional aggregations of U.S. customs districts. Data show that the U.S. is a net importer of wood products and Canada is the dominant supplier. Covers: fiberboard, hardboard, hardwood, particleboard, softwood, newsprint, printing and writing paper, waste paper, wood chips, wood pulp, etc. Extensive charts, tables and graphs.

China’s trade patterns are evolving. While it started in light manufacturing and the assembly of more sophisticated products as part of global supply chains, China is now moving up the value chain, “onshoring” the production of higher-value-added upstream products and moving into more sophisticated downstream products as well. At the same time, with its wages rising, it has started to exit some lower-end, more labor-intensive sectors. These changes are taking place in the broader context of China’s rebalancing—away from exports and toward domestic demand, and within the latter, away from investment and toward consumption—and as a consequence, demand for some commodity imports is slowing, while consumption imports are slowly rising. The evolution of Chinese trade, investment, and consumption patterns offers opportunities and challenges to low-wage, low-income countries, including China’s neighbors in the Mekong region. Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., Myanmar, and Vietnam (the CLMV) are all open economies that are highly integrated with China. Rebalancing in China may mean less of a role for commodity exports from the region, but at the same time, the CLMV’s low labor costs suggest that manufacturing assembly for export could take off as China becomes less competitive, and as China itself demands more consumption items. Labor costs, however, are only part of the story. The CLMV will need to strengthen their infrastructure, education, governance, and trade regimes, and also run sound macro policies in order to capitalize fully on the opportunities presented by China’s transformation. With such policy efforts, the CLMV could see their trade and integration with global supply chains grow dramatically in the coming years.

Latin America is looking towards China and Asia -- and China and Asia are looking right back. This is a major shift: for the first time in its history, Latin America can benefit from not one but three major engines of world growth. Until the 1980s ...

Montanaʹs forest products industry has been experiencing declining production levels during the last two decades, with many mills struggling to survive due to declining harvest levels over the last two decades and the current low domestic demand. By diversifying wood product sales into new international markets, Montana wood product manufacturers would have an opportunity to increase their current production levels. To determine the potential export opportunities for Montana manufacturers in the Chinese wood product import market, a strategic analysis was conducted. The purpose of the strategy formulation for this research was to identify the position that Montana wood product manufacturers should take, in order to achieve the best possible sustainable competitive advantage for exporting their products to China. To facilitate this process, Montanaʹs forest industry core competencies were identified and aligned with Chinese wood product import market opportunities to highlight strong growth prospects for the Montana wood products industry. It was found that the Montanaʹs log supply strengths primarily exist in the Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and lodgepole pine species, with the majority of the volume existing in small size classes (7.0ʺ-14.9ʺ diameter at breast height). The wood products that provided the best fit with Chinese import demands are dimensional lumber (2x4s), of these species. The predominant Chinese uses of these products are for concrete forms and furring strips, which are key components in concrete housing construction. The recommended target markets that Montana wood product manufacturers should pursue are the 2nd and 3rd tier lumber distributors that are located in the 2nd and 3rd tier cites of the Shandong province. It is believed that this market provides an opportunity for future growth and decreased competition from industry rivals. The best opportunity to increase total export volumes of Montana wood products is through the creation of a wood product export coalition, licensed as an export trading company. The creation of this coalition increases the total chance of export success for Montanaʹs wood product industry, while reducing the marketing cost and risk for individual manufacturers.