According to a report from France’ s BFM television station on the 10th, French oak has gained popularity in China in recent years, and the amount of wood imported by China has continued to increase. Between January and May 2021, French oak logs exported to China increased by 42% compared to the same period in 2020.

Specifically, during these 5 months, 81,670 cubic meters of oak was shipped from the forests in France to China without any processing. In addition, the export volume of softwoods such as French pine to China also surged by 66% during the same period.

According to the Les Échos, in addition to the good quality of the wood, there are several reasons that have caused the rapid flow of French logs to China. First, China revised the Forest Law in 2017 to strictly restrict the commercial logging of natural forests, which directly increased the market share of overseas timber supply.

Second, Russia, a major producer of oak, has decided to stop exporting next year. Since 70% of Russia' s log exporting country is China, China has turned its attention to other countries, and a large number of French oak is continuously exported to China.

"France has met international demand to a certain extent, but this has harmed the country' s wood processing and related industries." Since April this year, the All-French Timber Federation has repeatedly petitioned the government to ban the export of logs. They said that because the wood was bought by the Chinese, many sawmills and processors are facing an unprecedented dilemma of "cooking without rice", and some jobs have even been forced to suspend work.

Les Échos said that after the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, people in European and American countries set off a "decoration fever". However, the price of French oak flooring is constantly rising due to the pressure of Chinese procurement. It is estimated that the surge in Chinese purchases of French oak in the past six years has increased the price of French oak flooring by 15% to 20%.

The French government has not made a statement on log exports. The French Timber Federation recently launched an online petition calling for the implementation of the "France first" principle and no longer exporting oak logs on a large scale.

France TV 2 stated that an anonymous forest farmer believes that it is too simple to attribute the lack of wood and price increases to "Chinese appetite". 

French forestry owners are willing and happy to sell wood to the Chinese because they offer high prices (often 2 times or even 3 times that of French counterparts). 

"Everyone is willing to sell a good price. This is the law of the market, but people often enjoy the convenience of globalization while blaming it for harming their own interests."