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China Wood Products Price and Market Reports
01 – 15th Jan 2024


US Dollar Exchange Rates of  10th  Jan 2023
China Yuan
7.16
Report from China
 

 Tariff adjustments for 2024
The State Council has announced adjustments to trade
tariffs for 2024 to address domestic supply and demand
and assist with the development of advanced
manufacturing.

These adjustments include tariff waivers for key medical
goods, tariff reduction on resources in short supply,
critical equipment and key parts and certain agriculture
products and tariff increases on certain commodities.

 China will impose tariffs on 8,957 tax items in
2024.

 1,010 items, including certain medical products,
key equipment and parts, resources in short supply,
and some agriculture products, will be subject to
provisional import tariff rates as of 1 January 2024,
which are lower than the most favored nation (MFN)
tariffs.

 Import tariffs on some commodities will be raised
to assist with the development of domestic industry
and cope with changes in supply and demand as of 1
January 2024. Examples include ethylene, propylene,
and liquid crystal glass substrates.

 The conventional tariff rates will be applied to
imported goods originating from 30 countries or
regions, under the 20 free trade agreements and
preferential trade arrangements that have been signed
and entered into force between China and relevant
countries or regions.

 The preferential tariff rates will continue to be
applied to 43 least-developed countries that have
established diplomatic relations with China and
completed the exchange of documents to support and
help the least-developed countries accelerate their
development. The zero tariff treatment for Vanuatu
will end.

 The tariff quota management will continue to be
implemented on eight categories of commodities
including wheat and the tax rates will remain
unchanged.

 Export tariffs will be imposed on 107
commodities, including ferrochrome, 68 of which are
subjected to provisional export tariff rates.

Wood products among some agriculture products will be
subject to provisional import tariff rates as of 1 January
2024 which are lower than the most favored nation (MFN)
tariffs. The most favored nation (MFN) tariff rates in
2024 for wood products will be at six levels, namely 3%,
4%, 6%, 7%, 8% and 12%.

The provisional tariff rates in 2024 for wood products will be at
three levels. Details can be found at:

http://gss.mof.gov.cn/gzdt/zhengcefabu/202312/t20231221_3923368.htm

and
http://gss.mof.gov.cn/gzdt/zhengcejiedu/202312/t20231221_3923371.htm

 
Change in wood products trade between China and
Malaysia

The following analysis is based on China’s Customs data.
China will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic
relations with Malaysia in 2024. For the past 14 years
China had been Malaysia's largest trading partner but
recently the trade in wood products between the two
countries has changed dramatically.

Malaysia was a major supplier of logs to China between
1998 and 2007 and China imported 29,300 cubic metres of
logs from Malaysia in 2003. After the global financial
crisis in 2008 China’s log imports from Malaysia fell,
dropping to less than 10,000 cubic metres.


In 2020 and 2021 China imported only 4,633 cubic metres
and 1,374 cubic metres of logs from Malaysia
respectively.

Malaysia was once a major exporter of plywood to China.
China imported 2.08 million cubic metres of plywood
from Malaysia in 1995 and plywood imports remained
above 1 million cubic metres between 1995 to 2000,
dropping to 196,000 cubic metres in 2022.


China became a major plywood producer with production
accounting for around 50% of the world total so no longer
needs to import plywood. China now exports plywood to
more than 200 countries and accounts for about 30% of
the world total. China's plywood imports account for less
than 1% of the world total.
 

Rise in forest products trade between China and
Malaysia

According to China Customs, in 2022 the total value of
forest products trade (including wood products and non-
wood products) between China and Malaysia rose year on
year by 16% to US$7.82 billion.

The value of wood products and non-wood products
amounted to US$3.42 billion and US$4.39 billion, up 24%
and 10% respectively.

Trade in wood products between China and Malaysia
China mainly imported three categories of wood products
from Malaysia in 2022, wood pulp; paper board, pulp and
paper products; timber and timber products. The value of
these three major wood products accounted for 95% of the
national total value of wood products imports in 2022.

China mainly exported three categories of wood products
to Malaysia in 2022, namely wood pulp; wood furniture
and seats; timber and timber products, which the value of
these three major wood products made up 95% of the
national total value of wood products exports in 2022.



Log and sawnwood imports from Malaysia
China’s log imports from Malaysia in the first 11 months
of 2023 rose 66% to 30,017 cubic metres valued at
US$10.69 million, up 16% over the same period.


Mixed tropical logs was the largest category of imports at
13,854 cubic metres in the first 11 months of 2023.
China’s eucalyptus and kapur log imports from Malaysia
rose dramatically.

China’s sawnwood imports from Malaysia in the first 11
months of 2023 fell 12% to 97,504 cubic metres valued at
US$34.05 million, down 23% year on year. China’s
mixed tropical sawnwood imports from Malaysia
amounted to 89,570 cubic metres in the first 11 months of
2023, down 8% from the same period of 2023.

Abbreviations

LM        Loyale Merchant, a grade of log parcel  Cu.m         Cubic Metre
QS         Qualite Superieure    Koku         0.278 Cu.m or 120BF
CI          Choix Industriel                                                       FFR            French Franc
CE         Choix Economique                                                        SQ              Sawmill Quality
CS         Choix Supplimentaire      SSQ            Select Sawmill Quality
FOB      Free-on-Board     FAS            Sawnwood Grade First and
KD        Kiln Dry                               Second 
AD        Air Dry        WBP           Water and Boil Proof
Boule    A Log Sawn Through and Through MR              Moisture Resistant
              the boards from one log are bundled                      pc         per piece      
              together                      ea                each      
BB/CC  Grade B faced and Grade C backed MBF           1000 Board Feet          
              Plywood   MDF           Medium Density Fibreboard
BF         Board Foot F.CFA         CFA Franc        
Sq.Ft     Square Foot               Price has moved up or down

Source:ITTO'  Tropical Timber Market Report

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