PARIS: EU imports of tropical veneers increased 8.8% to 311,372 cu.m in the first nine months of this year, mainly due to recovery in the traditional markets in France and Italy which together account for almost half of the EU’s tropical veneer imports.
Imports increased into France by 16.4% to 86,915 cu.m and Italy by 15.9% to 47,725 cu.m. There were also gains in imports by Romania (+64.8% to 13,073cu.m) and Greece (+32.9% to 12,235 cu.m).
However there was a sharp decline in imports into Spain (- 12.9% to 26,166 cu.m) and Germany (-26.2% to 9,659 cu.m) during the same period.
Much of the increase in EU imports of tropical veneer during the first nine months of 2015 was due to a sharp rise in deliveries from Gabon (+19.2% to 104,987 cu.m).
French and Italian okoumé plywood producers, sourcing veneer primarily from Gabon, have benefitted from improved demand this year.
Demand has recovered in the Netherlands, while some improvement is also reported in both the French and Italian domestic markets.
Besides Gabon, Cameroon (+16.3% to 20,866 cu.m) and Ghana (+21.1% to 6,600 cu.m) also stepped up deliveries of tropical veneer to Europe during the first nine months of 2015.
However, imports from all other major supply countries declined this year, including from Ivory Coast (-3.6% to 49,469 cu.m), Congo (-7.0% to 11,249 cu.m), Equatorial Guinea (-17.3% to 4,953 cu.m) and Indonesia (-21% to 3.673 cu.m).
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