In April 2023, the Global Timber Index (GTI) report showed that Indonesia's domestic timber market was picking up, and the GTI-Indonesia index rose above the critical value (50%) for the first time in four months. China's domestic demand for timber and timber products has maintained a growth trend, and the GTI-China index has been in the expansion range for three consecutive months. The timber markets in Brazil, Gabon, ROC, Malaysia, and Mexico have been in contraction for six consecutive months, with a narrower contraction in Malaysia. The report shows that the GTI-Indonesia index recorded 50.6% in April, mainly due to the increase in domestic orders, the less decrease in export orders, more logging, production and procurement. The GTI-Malaysia index registered 30.5%, which was below the critical value, but increased by 8.5 percentage points compared with the previous month, indicating that the situation of the timber industries in the above four countries continued to decline, and the trading atmosphere was still cold, not showing the signal of recovery. The number of new orders for timber and timber products in China has increased for three consecutive months, driving production and raw material purchases to rise simultaneously. In April, the GTI-China index recorded 55.8%, an increase of 1.9 percentage points from the previous month, and was above the critical value (50%) for three consecutive months. This month, the GTI pilot countries have taken many measures to promote the legal and sustainable trade of timber and revitalize the recovery of the timber industry. For instance, Gabon and China have committed to carry out a number of cooperation in the field of forestry, such as the forestry projects invested by Chinese enterprises in Gabon, and the Chinese government's commitment to the sustainable operation of forestry enterprises in Gabon. The Ministry of Plantation Industries & Commodities (MPIC), Malaysia is developing a national biomass action plan covering five sectors: plantations, agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry, within which it hopes to achieve a sustainable circular economy. In order to effectively respond to the current shortage of international demand, the GTI sample enterprises have also given positive suggestions. For example, GTI-Mexico enterprises suggested measures such as increasing sales promotion, expanding financing sources, and regulating the imports to boost the domestic timber industry market, and suggested forestry companies and government departments to using the digital technology so as to improve work efficiency. GTI-ROC enterprise recommends that government departments coordinate forest management more, boost the demand for tropical timber market, and promote the development of tropical timber market in the Congo Basin.

GTI Monthly Report-April 2023.pdf