On November 7-8, the 10th International Hardwood Conference was successfully held in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Luo Xinjian, Secretary-General of the Global Green Supply Chains Initiative (GGSC), attended the conference at the invitation of the Association of the Austrian Wood Industries. Co-hosted by the Association of the Austrian Wood Industries, the European Organisation of the Sawmill Industry, and the European Timber Trade Federation, the conference brought together approximately 140 industry representatives from around the world.

Secretary-General Luo Xinjian (first from the left) and some guests of the conference visit Austrian furniture company TEAM 7

The two-day conference included business visits and presentations, and the latter was divided into four blocks: macroeconomic situation, resources and markets, policies and regulations (EUDR), and technology and innovation. During the resources and markets block, Mr. Jean-Christophe Claudon (from ITTO - International Tropical Timber Organization) gave a keynote speech titled “Tropical Timber Markets”, for which he introduced ITTO’s latest publications, including the Global Timber Index (GTI) Report.

Mr. Jean-Christophe Claudon introduces ITTO's publications at the conference, including the GTI Report implemented by GGSC

With the support of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute of the Macao SAR (IPIM), The GTI Report is executed by GGSC and is globally released in five languages (Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese) on the ITTO official website (www.itto.int) and the GGSC website (www.itto-ggsc.org) every month.

Currently, ten pilot countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador and China, have joined in the building of the GTI platform. Each month, focal points of the pilot countries select superior timber enterprises to participate in the monthly GTI data submissions and information sharing.

So far, the number of participating enterprises has increased to 260. In 2024, the platform launched the GTI-Producers Index and the GTI-Woodbased Panel (GTI-WBP) Index, further enriching the content of the Report.

The three series of GTI Report: GTI Report for Pilot Countries, GTI-Producers Report, and GTI-WBP Report

Going ahead, the GTI platform will provide more dimensional and value-added services for GTI enterprises that participate in the data reporting. These services will include organizing mutual visits, business matchmaking as well as learning and exchange activities.

 It is worth noting that since its release, the GTI Report has been cited and reposted by various forestry-related agencies in different countries and has become an important reference for people to understand the economic trends of the forestry and timber sector in relevant countries.