While China and India were buying at reasonable levels,
log trade elsewhere was very slow and demand was low.
Prices were reported as stable, although beyond the
restricted number of species for China and India, there
were too few buyers in the market on which to base
normal market prices. Some business in non-premium
species was being conducted with Vietnam. Prices for
these species were likely to have been keenly negotiated
and qualities would have been lower than usual.
The onset of many countries’ global economic problems
has yet to fully impact all sectors of the log and lumber
industries. However, lower growth forecasts for
economies in developed countries is certain to slow
manufacturing and sales of furniture, which will impact
demand for tropical timber. There has already been a
downturn in sales of board products in Europe, due to
problems in the building industries and lower demand
from furniture manufacturers and exporters.
As with logs, it is likely that sawn lumber prices appear
stable only because of low trading volumes, rather than
being led by demand in the market. Buying was very slow
over the previous fortnight. Sapele prices were still
variable and subject to offers. Buying for iroko lumber
was weaker due to lower demand.
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