The Global Timber Index (GTI) report in November 2023 revealed that the downturn in business prosperity had eased in some timber-producing countries (including Indonesia, Malaysia, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Brazil and Mexico), as the GTI index values of the six countries had increased compared with the previous month, though still below the critical value (50%). Among them, Malaysia saw an increase of 9.9 percentage points, followed by Mexico (5.9 percentage points) and Gabon (4.6 percentage points), ranking among the top three GTI pilot countries in terms of growth rate.

As November is the traditional peak season for China's timber market, the market in this month stayed vibrant all along, with both market demand and supply increasing compared with the previous month. On November 21-22, the Global Legal & Sustainable Timber Forum (GLSTF) 2023 was held in Macao SAR, China. With the theme of "Connect, Cooperate and Share to Promote the Recovery of the Global Tropical Timber Market", the Forum had provided an important platform for not only promoting legal and sustainable timber trade, but also strengthening international cooperation and exchanges. For more information about the Forum, please visit the GLSTF website at https://www.glstf.net/index_en.html.

This month, GTI pilot countries and sample enterprises had also shared updates on the timber market. For example, Brazilian enterprises reported large amounts of rain had greatly affected the speed of water and land transportation, and for some enterprises, this had resulted in a failure to make on-time delivery to customers; on the other hand, the reduced supply of logs caused by the rain had led to a more active demand for logs at this time of year, however, this did not indicate increased prosperity in wood production and manufacturing. Gabonese and Indonesian enterprises mentioned that the high prices of fuel oil (e.g., diesel) used by the industry had caused the production costs to increase. As for enterprises in Mexico, some of them reported stagnant production due to insufficient transportation capacity and the slow transport of logs from the forest to the sawmill. Indonesian enterprises noted that despite the current low log prices, the buyer's requirements for the products were still strict (super quality and FSC certified), and some enterprises called for incentives for wood and wood products sourced from sustainably managed and/or legal forests.

GTI Report - November 2023.pdf