IndustryEdge has stated that Australia’s log exports fell to a five-year low in December 2020, down 47% on the prior December and totalling just 196,519 m3. The dramatic fall saw exports 34% lower than for November, which was itself 32% lower than exports in October. Source: IndustryEdge
The average export price for December was AUDFob140.14/m3, up from AUDFob130.49/m3 recorded the prior month.
The chart above shows Australian Log Exports by Main Country: Jan 17 – Dec 20 000 m3 & AUDFob/m3).
All of the trade data for December 2020 for all forestry and wood products imports and exports has been uploaded to IndustryEdge’s visualisation platform, Wood Market Edge online, where the following chart was created.
The sole driver for the steep decline in exports was import bans imposed by China, on shipments from Australia. Observably, other countries stepped into the breach, but were unable to come close to covering the significant fall in shipments to China.
The above chart (Australian Log Exports to China: Jan ’17 – Dec 20 000 m3 & AUDFob/m3) shows Australia’s log exports to China alone over the same time period. What it emphasises above all elder, is the significance of China to the log export trade. Notably, the recent experience contrasts with that for New Zealand.
