For the first time ever, this October, the dollar value of lumber shipments to China and Japan have topped those to the United States, which B.C. Forests Minister Pat Bell highlights as a positive harbinger.
While lumber shipments continued to increase to China in 2010 - and could hit the 2.5 billion board foot mark - the prospects in 2011 are even better, believes Bell.
"The B.C. forest sector was much busier this year and it appears that the worst of the economic downturn is now behind us," he said Wednesday.
British Columbia - and particularly north-central B.C. lumber producers - have historically relied heavily on the United States market, and to a lesser extent on a market for high-grade lumber in Jappan.
But in the past several years, the province has made inroads into an emerging Chinese market, helping to lay the foundation by sponsoring demonstration projects and encouraging the adoption of wood-building codes.
In October, shipments to China were valued at $85 million and to Japan at $58 million, for a combined total of $143 million. The value of shipments to the United States was $124 million.
The value of shipments in the first 10 months of 2010 surpassed $1 billion for China and Japan: $496 million to China and $544 million to Japan.
The value of shipments to the United States during the same period was still higher at $1.55 billion, but Bell noted that the October values show that higher-value lumber is being shipped and consumed in China.
One of the criticisms of the Chinese market is that is has been a dumping ground for low-grade lumber used in concrete forming, scaffolding and re-manufacturing.
Bell pointed out that the average price for lumber sold to China in October was higher than that in the U.S.
The inroads into China, in particular, have been significant.
Just six years ago, lumber shipments to China were below 60 million board feet and accounted for less than one per cent of B.C.'s exports by volume. In 2009, shipments to China, at 1.63 billion board feet, accounted for 11.5 per cent of B.C.'s exports, according to B.C. Statistics.
In the first 10 months of this year, China's shipments have hit 2.1 billion board feet, according to figures released by the B.C. Ministry of Forests.
Companies like West Fraser, Canfor and new-comer Conifex are shipping a high proportion of their production to China.
During the first half of 2010, 24 per cent of Canfor's lumber was shipped to offshore markets, with half going to China, a one-third increase in offshore shipments compared to 2009.
During the third-quarter, about 15 per cent of West Fraser's Canadian production was sent to Asia, with just over half of that going to China
In the third-quarter, 49 per cent of Conifex's shipments went to China and Japan.
Bell hopes to see four billion board feet of lumber shipped to China by 2012.
.PNG;w=120;h=117;mode=crop)
