The Global Timber Index (GTI) Report for February 2024 revealed that the global timber market on the whole started the new year with continued lackluster performance. The GTI indexes for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Gabon, Republic of the Congo (ROC), Brazil, Mexico, and China were all below the critical value of 50%, registering 44.0%, 23.2%, 45.6%, 43.5%, 35.5%, 39.6%, 35.2%, and 31.7%, respectively.

With diminishing influence of factors such as holidays, the timber production and trading of various countries were returning to normal, and the timber market began to release positive signals. In February, Brazil saw an increase in export orders for wood products compared to the previous month, while Gabon's new orders held steady, Thailand's export orders remained at the same level as the previous month, and ROC’s downward in export orders eased. This month, in celebration of the Chinese Spring Festival, factories halted production and operation for a holiday break that lasted nearly half a month, resulting in a significant reduction in timber production and trading activities, and it is expected to gradually pick up starting from late March. It is worth noting that the timber market had suffered a long period of downturn, and small timber enterprises were under great production and operation pressure.

This month, the GTI pilot countries had also made progress in promoting the legal and sustainable development of the timber industry, with some notable highlights and measures. In February, a new vocational training and education center at the Special Economic Zone NKOK in Gabon began its training for sawyers, peelers, joiners, sharpeners, and others, so as to provide skilled workers for NKOK and other places across Gabon. On February 9, the State of Mexico and the country’s National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR) signed an agreement on sustainable forest development, aiming to strengthen forest conservation training, enhance community involvement, develop the forest industry, and improve the quality of life in local communities. Recently, the 2nd meeting of the Ad Hoc Joint Task Force (JTF) on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was held in Putrajaya, Malaysia. During the meeting, a representative of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs said that the Indonesian government is hoping for a concrete solution from the Ad Hoc Joint Task Force, such as delayed EUDR implementation. The European Commission (EC) stated that it will cooperate with Indonesia and Malaysia to ensure that smallholders in all relevant commodity sectors remain in the deforestation-free supply chains, and the EC welcomed the commitment of the two countries to develop a rigorous tracking system and strengthen their certification systems.

GTI Report - February 2024.pdf