ISSUE 9: WHY CHINA PREFERS LOGS : EXPLAINING THE PREVALENCE OF UNPROCESSED WOOD IN CHINA’S TIMBER IMPORTS

ISSUE 9: WHY CHINA PREFERS LOGS : EXPLAINING THE PREVALENCE OF UNPROCESSED WOOD IN CHINA’S TIMBER IMPORTS

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In the past decade, China has become the number one importer of timber products in the world. Logs account for virtually all of this growth, and imports of even nominally processed wood, like sawn wood products, have stagnated. But the economics of importing unprocessed wood do not quite add up at first glance, especially in light of increasing scarcities, high prices, and spiraling transportation costs. This edition of the bulletin tackles the question of what then drives China’s preference for buying logs instead of processed
wood.