Wood construction in China is forecast to grow rapidly. Thus, the country has become one of the top export destinations of the sawmilling industry in Finland, reaching fourth place as starting of 2015.

According to the Finnish Forest Association (FFA), the sawmilling exports value from Finland to China rose to EUR 140 million during 2015. The amount is roughly half of the value of exports to Japan, the largest export destination of the branch. The exports’ increase came after an export campaign in China, made in cooperation with the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the Finnish exports-promoting organization Finpro.

"It was China that saved us. Though our exports to other countries are in regression, our trade with China is increasing," said Mr. Kai Merivuori, Executive Director of the Finnish Sawmills Association during its stakeholder meeting in Helsinki last week.

Many construction companies showed their interest in interior claddings and floorings, rising demand for Finnish-style log houses. Among others, a Chinese company that makes wooden doors and a aluminium and wooden frames producer have been very interested in glue lams.

Ms. Gao Ya, Senior Advisor for the campaign mentioned above, stated that the Chinese economy is starting to grow, opening up new opportunities for the provision of services. Finland enjoys a great reputation in China, regarding the quality of their products, thus forming a great step for the sawmilling industries.

The Chinese now have an increased need for renovating their old houses and this raises the demand in wooden dwellings. The wood constructions in China are mainly based on imported wood, and the volume of domestic loggings is on a par with the imports of wood and sawmilling products, as the FFA reported.

In 2013, a 14 million hectares plantation was set up in China, which will produce up to 100 million m3 of wood on a 5 to 8 years period. Also, the illegal timber trade has been taken very seriously starting 2007 and all China’s forests are protected against illegal logging until 2018, as Ya mentioned.

The furniture market’s increased demand is also very important for the Finnish producers, especially custom-made furniture, furniture for children and furniture for elderly people. This demand grows by one third each year.

(Source: globalwoodmarketsinfo.com)