APA: The Engineered Wood Association

Asian Timber Magazine.

Bourke, I. J. and Leitch, J. 1998 Trade Restrictions and Their Impact on International Trade in Forest Products, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.

Collins, Kathryn. 1999 Market Opportunities for Australia's Plantation Resource, Forest & Wood Products Research & Development Corporation, and World Forest Institute.

Collins, Kathryn. United States Forest Sector, World Forest Institute.

FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization. 1997 State of the World's Forests.

FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization. Yearbook of Forest Products Series.

FAS: Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1999 Wood Products: International Trade and Foreign Markets, Annual Production, Consumption and Trade Cicular Series WP-1-99.

FAS: Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Attache Reports Series. Global Agriculture Information Network.

International Wood Markets Research Inc. Wood Market Quarterly. Vancouver, B.C. Canada

WWPA: Western Wood Products Association

Introduction

Over the last 30 years, trade in forest products has grown both in value and volume. Developed countries account for most of the international trade, with North America and European countries dominating. Trade is concentrated in relatively few countries. In 1996, five countries made up more than half of all exports.



Source: Bourke and Leitch, 1998.

Trade in primary forest products such as logs, sawnwood, panels, pulp, and paper reached nearly US$273 billion in 1997. Total imports exceeded total exports by about $4 billion.

The formation of regional trade blocs created by agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) has reduced import tariffs and increased trade amongst member nations .Within Europe, much of the trade is intra-regional, with countries importing raw material, and then re-exporting to other European nations. This trend is also true for much of southeast Asia.



Another major development over the last three decades has been the unmistakable shift from exports of primary commodities such as pulp and logs, to increased trade in value-added products. This partly reflects active governmental policies in several countries to encourage the development of higher-end processing industries. The increasing scarcity of large diameter logs and the utilization of technological advances have also spurred the expansion of value-added engineered wood products.