China tropical log imports jump at Jiangsu port
mongabay.com
May 16, 2007
Logs imports through Zhangjiagang Port in Jiangsu Province, China have increased significantly in 2007, reports the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) in its bi-weekly update.
Port statistics show that log imports in the first quarter 2007 reached 1.01 million cubic meters (with an estimated value of $260 million), up 72% (up 94% in value) from 2006.
IT reports that logs came from 30 countries, mainly from Gabon (583,000 cubic meters), Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands (combined 341,000 cubic meters). It says that South American logs came mainly from Guyana and Suriname.
China is the world’s largest consumer of tropical logs. The timber is used both for domestic consumption and to produce furniture (global exports of which will reach $100 billion in 2007) and other products that are sent to overseas markets, especially in the United States, Europe (Germany, UK, France) and Japan. Environmentalists say that Chinese demand for tropical timber is fueling unsustainable logging in some of the world’s most remote forests. Last month China announced it had developed guidelines for the establishment of sustainable forest plantations abroad by Chinese firms.