After February, a large volume of German spruce lumber was reported at the Chinese ports, with imports reaching approximately 340 thousand cubic meters up to May.
The SF-grade German spruce market price of 1,650 yuan/m3 has a very big impact on Finnish spruce and Russian pine suppliers, mostly because the length specification is very responsive to market demand, and the sales are better.
In Germany, sawlog prices have seen a steady decline since early 2018 from spruce bark beetle and storm wood availability – they had dropped by almost 50% by the end of 2019.
With increasing volumes of distressed sawlogs at low price levels, German sawmills have become more cost-competitive and are now able to access export markets easier and with positive margins.
European Union countries’ exports of spruce lumber to China
| Exporting Country |
Jan.-May 2019 |
Jan.-May 2020 |
Change in % |
|
|
1,052,768 |
1,526,956 |
45 % |
|
|
228,651 |
405,441 |
77 % |
|
|
402,135 |
366,527 |
-9 % |
|
|
208,084 |
340,207 |
63 % |
|
|
28,898 |
118,160 |
309 % |
|
|
91,637 |
104,977 |
15 % |
|
|
93,363 |
191,644 |
105 % |
|
|
278 |
219 |
-21 % |
|
|
278 |
219 |
-21 % |
| TOTAL |
1,053,046 |
1,527,175 |
45 % |
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