1 October 2013: The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) launched the 16-30 September issue of the Tropical Timber Market (TTM) Report, which calls for support from those importing timber from Madagascar to halt the trade of threatened timber species.

The report also highlights the acquisition of software to collect and process forest data by the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife in Cameroon as well as the upgrade of port facilities in Sabah, Malaysia to reduce congestion. The publication also notes a call for increased automation in the sawnwood industry in Brazil in order to respond to increased demand.

The report further highlights the projection of zero growth for the Japanese economy in 2014 as well as the move to increase duties on Chinese plywood to almost 60 per cent by the US. However, the report also notes that the American Alliance for Hardwood Plywood projects that the increased duties will result in lost jobs in the cabinet industry as well as higher consumer prices.

In Europe, the report highlights opportunities for tropical hardwood that is legally and environmentally verified, while noting that European Union hardwood imports have a negligible impact on deforestation rates in tropical countries.

In addition to the headline stories, the report contains tropical timber market reports from Brazil, China, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar and Peru. The report further recounts regional tropical timber market statistics from Central and West Africa, Europe and North America.

The TTM Report is published through the ITTO Market Information Service (MIS) with the aim of improving transparency in the international tropical timber market. [Publication: Tropical Timber Market Report – Issue 17 Number 18]