The Global Timber Index (GTI) report in August 2023 shows that the GTI-China Index registered 52.6%, down 0.4 percentage point from the previous month. This also indicates that the timber market in China was in a state of expansion for 2 consecutive months. With the release of a new national housing policy at the end of August, four major first-tier cities in China — including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen — had announced families that own no property in the region, are to be treated as first-time homebuyers eligible for favorable mortgage conditions. The policy may also further drive the development of timber markets, not only in China, but also in some other places.

The GTI-Indonesia index saw a slight decline and stood at 48.1%, and the sub-indexes showed increased harvesting and production, relatively stable number of export orders, and slightly insufficient domestic demand. The GTIs of Malaysia, ROC, and Brazil rose slightly from the previous month, registering 37.9%, 36%, and 36.1%, respectively. In contrast, the GTIs of Gabon and Mexico fell sharply compared with the previous month, recording 37.2% and 33.6%, respectively.

Recently, the GTI pilot countries have been keeping a close watch on the implementation progress of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Indonesia, Malaysia, and the European Union have established an Ad Hoc Joint Task Force (JTF) concerning the EUDR, and the Kick-off Meeting of the JTF was convened in early August, aiming to seek common interests between producing and consuming countries, and carry out dialogues to enhance mutual understanding on the implementation of the regulation. Besides, some enterprises expressed their concerns about potential trade discrimination under the EUDR. The potential negative impact of the EUDR on Brazilian timber products was discussed at a meeting of the Agriculture and Industry and trade committees of the Chamber of Deputies, which concluded that EUDR would impact almost 35% of the products exported from Brazil to the EU.

GTI Report - August 2023.pdf