China's timber imports saw both volume and value rise in November: log imports surged 27.4% month-on-month, with Congo's exports to China nearly doubling. Canada recorded its highest monthly increase this year at 30.4%, yet annual imports still showed a “decline in both volume and value,” highlighting diverging demand for construction and furniture materials.

China Customs latest data shows that in November 2025, China's imports of logs and sawn timber totaled 4.707 million cubic meters, marking a slight year-on-year increase of 0.5% and a month-on-month rise of 12.3%.

In terms of import value, the November figure reached US$914 million, up 1.9% year-on-year and 12.4% month-on-month. Both import volume and value demonstrated growth trends in both year-on-year and month-on-month comparisons.

In November, cumulative imports of logs reached 2.849 million cubic meters, marking a slight year-on-year increase of 0.2% but a significant month-on-month surge of 27.4%. The import value declined by 9.9% year-on-year, yet rose substantially by 36% compared to October. The average unit price of imported logs in November decreased by 10.1% year-on-year.

Sawn timber imports fell 4.9% month-on-month to 1.857 million cubic meters in November, while posting a slight 1% year-on-year increase. Import value declined marginally by 0.8% month-on-month but rose 13.3% year-on-year. The average unit price of sawn timber imports in November increased by 12.1% year-on-year, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth.
 

Supplying Country
Among the top ten timber exporting countries to China in November were New Zealand, Russia, Thailand, Canada, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Solomon Islands, Republic of the Congo, Belarus, and the United States.

Among them, the Republic of the Congo saw its timber exports to China surge nearly twofold year-on-year in November, entering the top ten for the first time this year. Canada also achieved its highest year-on-year growth rate of 30.4% for exports to China this year. Other countries showing growth trends in timber exports to China include New Zealand (+12.9%), Japan (+6.9%), Solomon Islands (+4.3%), and Belarus (+20%).

All other countries experienced varying degrees of decline. The United States saw the steepest drop at 64.2%. Although imports of U.S. logs resumed in November, the earliest shipments are not expected to arrive until year-end due to the need for buyers and sellers to renegotiate prices and resolve shipping schedule issues. Papua New Guinea followed with a 23% decrease. Exports from Russia and Thailand to China fell by 2.7% and 12.7%, respectively.

Among major African timber-producing countries, exports to China from the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ghana saw significant year-on-year increases of 199.3%, 1477.8%, and 88.8%, respectively. Other countries, including Gabon (-10.2%), South Africa (-38.1%), Cameroon (-74.6%), the Central African Republic (-9.6%), Mozambique (-88.7%), and Zambia (-67.6%), showed declining export trends to China.

Timber Species
In terms of specific timber categories, China imported 3.36 million cubic meters of coniferous logs and sawn timber in November 2025, accounting for 71.7% of total imports and representing a 2.5% year-on-year increase. The import value reached US$500 million, showing a slight 0.3% year-on-year growth.

Coniferous log imports totaled 2.23 million cubic meters, comprising 66% of total coniferous timber imports and rising 2.6% year-on-year. with the import value reaching US$267 million, down 4.3% year-on-year. The average import unit price for coniferous logs in November decreased by 6.76% year-on-year.

Coniferous sawn timber imports totaled 1.13 million cubic meters, up 2.3% year-on-year; the import value reached US$233 million, increasing by 6.2% year-on-year. The average import unit price for coniferous sawn timber in November rose by 3.8% year-on-year.

For other timber species
Imports of other timber species saw mixed trends: eucalyptus logs declined by 10.2% in volume with a slight 3.4% drop in unit price; okoume logs surged nearly 2.5-fold in volume; ash lumber imports rose 20.7% in volume with a 2.5% increase in unit price. Imports of North American hardwood logs continued their downward trend, with a year-on-year decline of 93.9% in November and a significant increase in import unit price of 29.1%. Imports of meranti sawn timber increased by 59% year-on-year, while the unit price decreased by 38.1%. Imports of beech logs and sawn timber decreased by 55.9% and 19.6%, respectively.

Overall
Overall, in the first 11 months of 2025, China's cumulative timber imports reached 51.194 million cubic meters, down 11.2% year-on-year; the import value amounted to US$10.29 billion, a 14.2% decline compared to the same period last year.

Among these, log imports totaled 29.044 million cubic meters from January to November, accounting for 56.7% of the total imports, down 12.1% year-on-year; with the import value declining by 21.4% to $4.454 billion. Meanwhile, sawn timber imports decreased by 10% to 22.15 million cubic meters, and the import value fell by 8.9% to $5.756 billion. Among these, only February and November showed year-on-year growth in imports, while the remaining months were lower than the same period last year.

This indicates that the trend of “declining both volume and price” has nearly characterized China's timber imports throughout 2025. This trend stems primarily from the combined impact of multiple factors: the ongoing adjustment in China's real estate sector, the slowdown in infrastructure investment growth, and fluctuations in global supply chains and prices.

Analyzing the import structure reveals a particularly pronounced contraction in coniferous wood imports, which serve as primary construction materials. This aligns with the decline in new residential construction starts domestically. While imports of other wood species—largely used in furniture and decoration—remained relatively stable, they also showed a slight downward trend influenced by consumer confidence and export orders.

Outlook 2026
Looking ahead, China's timber import market will continue to face significant uncertainties. The trajectory of import volumes and prices will remain critically dependent on the international trade environment and the pace of recovery in China's domestic macroeconomy.