FRA has endorsed a report from a forestry market analyst claiming that Chinese demand for Canadian timber will increase in 2013.

Seattle, United States, December 31, 2012 — Forestry Research Associates (FRA) has endorsed a report from a forestry market analyst claiming that Chinese demand for Canadian timber will increase in 2013.

British Columbia, one of the main timber growing regions in Canada, exported a total of 5.4 million cubic metres of softwood lumber in the first nine months of the year. Although this was a slight decline on the exports in the same period of 2011, Mark Kennedy of CIBC World Markets claims this is all to change.

Kennedy said that the small decline is actually quite a good result in light of the slight weakening of the Chinese real estate industry. The timber imported into China from Canada is generally used to reinforce concrete in apartment buildings and also for door and window frames. This means that imports will always be strongest when the country is building lots of homes.

FRA, a research and analysis consultancy, backs Mr Kennedy’s claims that social housing support and other stimulus moves announced by the Chinese government could mean more timber imports. He claims that between 2013 and 2015, timber imports could increase by as much as 20 per cent. Canada, in turn, supplies more than 80 per cent of all the lumber exported from the US.

In terms of China’s demand for new homes, some two million homes that were previously demolished need to be rebuilt and, even without this, China plans is to build some 10.75 million new homes every year for the coming 15 years.

FRA’s analysis partner Peter Collins, said, “With this kind of real estate development happening, we are confident that demand for sustainable timber will increase over the coming years. In fact, evidence suggests that demand will outstrip supply by some margin, which will also lead to rising prices.”

FRA claims that this all means strong returns for those who invest in sustainable forestry projects in Canada, through firms like Greenwood Management.

About Forestry Research Associates

Forestry Research Associates is a research and advisory consultancy that focuses on forestry management, sustainability issues and forestry investment around the globe.

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