Ukraine Overtakes Russia As EU's Main Timber Supplier

As Europe closed its receipts of Russian timber and wood products, its timber imports to Ukraine, Africa and other regions increased. Data show that from July 10, when EU countries completely stopped timber trade with Russia to August, Ukraine has replaced Russia as the EU's main timber supplier.

In terms of timber, in October, the EU's imports of Ukrainian timber increased by 22% year-on-year to 108,000 cubic meters; the average price fell by 11% month-on-month to US$318 per cubic meter, a 20% drop from last year.

In terms of plywood, in October, the number of plywood imported by the EU decreased, shrinking by 25% to 1.89 million cubic meters; the average price fell slightly by 1.2% month-on-month to US$680 per cubic meter; it rose slightly by 0.7% from US$675 in the same period last year.

In terms of wood chips, EU wood chip imports in October fell sharply by 49% year-on-year to 250,000 tons; the average price fell by 17% month-on-month to US$112 per ton; compared with last year's US$75, it rose by 50%.

At the same time, imports of wood pellets by EU countries have also increased significantly, especially in terms of average price, which increased by 78% to US$297 compared with US$167 in the same period last year. Moreover, the average price of wood chips, whose function is almost the same as that of wood pellets, has undoubtedly increased compared with last year.

However, how long Ukraine can maintain its current position as the EU's number one timber supplier is a matter of concern. On the one hand, Ukraine cannot directly satisfy Russia’s large export volume to EU countries; on the other hand, it is still unclear whether Ukraine’s timber trade will be able to proceed smoothly as the current domestic situation is not yet clear. .

In addition, African timber supply countries are also strong competitors for the EU market with Ukraine.