NZ Log Exports Crossed 2 Million M3 Threshold in June

New Zealand’s softwood log exports totaled 2.022 million cubic meters (m³) in June, crossing the 2.0 million m³ threshold for only the third month on record. Although short of the record 2.141 million m³ recorded in March 2019, the big lift in exports reverses a downwards trend, especially for shipments to China. The average export price declined to NZDFob158/m³, around USDFob102/m³.

At 18.8 million m³ for 2019-20, New Zealand’s softwood log exports were 15 percent lower than in 2018-19.

The chart below, created in IndustryEdge’s Wood Market Edge online from data released just a short time ago, clearly shows the recent rebound in exports and confirms that for China in particular, a relatively long period of declining imports from New Zealand, has ended. At least for now.

After the pandemic-induced export suppression of April, exports rebounded in May and lifted again in June. In the strange world of pandemic economics, where both supply and demand are disrupted on varied patterns, it is evident that supply of softwood logs was impacted primarily by supply side factors.

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