The Global Timber Index (GTI) Report for October 2024 reveals that Chinese timber market was showing signs of a steady recovery, as the GTI index for the country registered 50.9%, above the critical value (50%) for two consecutive months. With the arrival of the traditional peak season for China's timber sector, an uptick in both production and new orders has been observed in the country.

In contrast, the markets of wood producers were still in decline. The GTI indices for the Republic of the Congo (48.1%), Ghana (48.0%), Thailand (44.2%), Brazil (43.2%), Gabon (35.4%), Mexico (33.9%), and Malaysia (22.8%) were all below the critical value of 50%, indicating that in these countries, the overall business prosperity of GTI participating enterprises shrank from the previous month. However, in the African countries (Gabon, Ghana, and the Republic of the Congo), the contraction in the timber sector had eased, and it's worth noting that in the Republic of the Congo, the timber market was showing signs of stabilization on both supply and demand sides.

Recently, the GTI pilot countries have made new positive progress in sustainable forest management. Malaysia’s Sabah has exported its first batch of EUDR (European Union Deforestation Regulation)-compliant plywood to Poland. And according to Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) chief forest conservator Datuk Fred Kugan, Sabah is preparing to enhance its Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) and fully integrate EUDR requirements by February next year. On 15 October, a Ghanaian official announced that the government has submitted a new Legislative Instrument (LI) to Parliament, aiming to revoke the "LI 2462" regulations that permit mining activities in some forest reserves. News from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says that Mexico leads Latin America in transparency of forest information, and the government has taken many actions in this regard, for example, the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR) has made metadata, microdata and supplementary documents from its National Forest and Soil Inventory (INFyS) publicly accessible in FAO Microdata Catalog for Food and Agriculture (FAM).

GTI Report - October 2024.pdf