UK imports of Chinese plywood jumped 20% to 29,800 m3 in the first quarter of 2006, compared with the same period in 2005, according to Timbertrends. Malaysian imports rose slightly 2.2% to 34,700 m3. Conversely, UK imports of Brazilian hardwood plywood dropped 35% to 27,000 m3 while Indonesian plywood imports plummeted over 42% to 13,500 m3 in the same quarter. Aggregated UK plywood imports from these four supplier countries declined 15% to 105,000 m3 in the first quarter of this year. The decline was due to crackdown on illegal logging in Indonesia and Brazil, strikes in Brazil’s Ibama and raw material shortages in Southeast Asia. UK buyers were also holding back purchases hoping for prices to fall. Despite environmental pressures from NGOs, experts anticipate increasing import volumes of Chinese plywood in the UK, including products such as door skins and film-faced ply. (Source: ITTO)