US Dollar Exchange Rates of 31th
October 2011
China Yuan 6.3534
Report from China
Wood flooring cluster in Changzhou City set to expand
At a recent Seminar on the national wood-based panel
industry, Xu Yuexing, head of Henglin Town, Wujin
District of Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province presented
a paper entitled “Transformation and upgrading of the
wood industrial cluster in Changzhou City”.
The hosts for the seminar were the Research Institute of
Timber Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, the China
National Forestry Machinery Association, the China
National Forest Industry Association and the China Green
Times.
Henglin Town is home to many laminated flooring
manufacturers. There are 175 flooring enterprises and 230
flooring service enterprises and most of these companies
are in the flooring industrial zone.
Eighteen of these enterprises have annual sales over
RMB100 million and twelve are export oriented and earn
around US$10 million in foreign exchange annually.
Products from manufacturers in the zone are exported to
149 countries and regions including the USA, Russia and
South Korea. Exports from these companies constitute
around 65 percent of the national total.
It has been forecast that production in this industrial
cluster will increase to more than RMB20 billion by 2015
and that a further 5 to 6 flooring enterprises with sales
over RMB 1 billion will be established.
Timber imports through Huzhou Port, Zhejiang
Province forecast to double this year
During January to August, timber imports through Huzhou
Port totaled 103,400 cubic metres and were valued at
US$50.81 million, up 88 percent in volume and 86 percent
in value from the same period in 2010.
According to Huzhou Entry-Exit Inspection and
Quarantine Bureau, at this level of growth 2011 imports
will likely be double that of last year and could total
150,000 cubic metres. According to local experts, there are
several reasons for the increase such as:
 the huge demand for raw
materials from
processing enterprises in Huzhou City
 the increase in domestic timber
prices has
resulted in companies shifting their focus
to
overseas suppliers
 the appreciation of the
Chinese currency makes
imported timber cheaper so many enterprises
are
increasing their timber inventories
 some large flooring
manufacturers began to
import timber through the local port rather
than
other ports.
Pace of furniture export growth slows in Qingdao
During January to August 2011, the total value of the
furniture trade in Qingdao, Shandong Province rose
around 2 percent to US$432 million but this rate of growth
is lower than the national average (12%).
The total value of furniture exports grew just 2 percent to
US$426 million accounting for 44 percent of the total
value of Provincial furniture exports.
The pace of growth in furniture exports from Qingdao has
been slowing this year. By the end of the first quarter
exports had increased 17 percent on the previous quarter
but in the second quarter the increase was only 5 percent
and by the end of August the rate of increase had fallen to
just 2 percent compared to the same period in 2010.
Three kinds of foreign enterprises (Sino-foreign joint
ventures, cooperative ventures and wholly foreign-owned
enterprises) as well as domestic private enterprises are the
main furniture exporters.
During January to August the value of furniture exports by
the three categories of foreign enterprises plus those by
domestic private enterprises was US$420 million, making
up almost 99 percent of the total value of the furniture
trade.
The value of furniture exports by the state-own enterprises
was US$5.66 million, accounting for 1.3 percent of the
total furniture trade value.
Japan, South Korea, the USA and European countries are
the main destinations for furniture exports from Qingdao
City.
European countries are the main markets for furniture
exports from Qingdao, the second largest market is the
USA. Japan and South Korea are ranked third and fourth.
The value of furniture exports to these four markets during
the period January to August rose 10 percent to US$358
million and accounted for 84 percent of the total furniture
exports value from Qingdao.
New Zealand accounts for 97 percent of log imports
through Zhangzhou Port
During the first three quarters of this year log imports
through Zhangzhou Port in Fujian Province totaled 1.06
million cubic metres and were valued at US$153 million,
up 60 percent in volume and 78 percent in value from the
same period in 2010.
The imported logs were mainly from New Zealand (1.03
million cubic metres valued at US$148 million) and
accounting for around 97 percent of total log imports.
Small quantities of logs were from exporters in Australia,
Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and France. Exporters in
Germany, Belgium, Uruguay and Taiwan P.o.C were new
to the list of suppliers to Zhangzhou Port this year.
The wood panel processing industry in Zhangzhou City
has developed rapidly in recent years so the demand for
logs has increased.
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