1 June 2013: The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has launched the 16-31 May issue of the Tropical Timber Market (TTM) Report. The report highlights stories on slumping timber demand in the European Union (EU) leading to a stall of the planned expansion of the forestry industry in West Africa. In contrast, the report states that exports of pine sawnwood from Brazil have increased, while in China emphasis within timber trade has shifted to short-term agreements to avoid currency volatility.

With regard to forest governance, the report emphasizes success in the implementation of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) roadmap in Guyana. On the other hand, the Ministry of Forestry in Indonesia has, according to the report, called for additional support in order to address continuing corruption issues in the forestry sector. Likewise, the report reveals that implementation of the EU Timber Regulation has been erratic, in part because of the lack of appointment of Monitoring Organizations.

Finally, the report highlights benefits for farmers in India as a result of wood-based panel market development and the start of a process to address inefficiencies in the clearance of timber exports in Myanmar, which are currently checked by two agencies.

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 10]