Woodworking industry

In 2009, the UNECE region (which includes Europe, North America and the CIS) experienced an 11.6% fall in consumption of wood and paper products, the largest year-on-year drop since the oil crisis of the 1970s. This is a key conclusion of the Forest Products Annual Market Review 2009-2010 jointly published by the UNECE and FAO earlier this month. 
 

SANTIAGO -(Dow Jones)- Increasing demand from China and other emerging Asian markets will drive Chile's forestry industry in coming years, said a panel of industry executives Tuesday.

Chile's forestry sector, which produces wood boards, plywood and pulp, accounts for 8% of global forestry exports. It is also the Andean nation's second-largest exporting industry, just behind mining, and contributes 3% of the country's gross domestic product.

One of the major clouds hanging over British Columbia’s economy and forest products industry is uncertainty about the mountain pine beetle epidemic.

To date, the pine beetle has killed an estimated 50% of the province’s mature lodgepole pine.

In a recent economic analysis that focused on the pine beetle epidemic, Central 1 economist Bryan Yu noted that over the past 90 years there have been four or five major mountain pine beetle infestations.

The Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program was launched today by the Government of Canada.

The $100-million program will help to expand opportunities for Canada’s forestry sector through the development of innovative projects and technologies.

The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources, launched the program today in Ottawa and made a call for proposals that could receive IFIT funding.

Ten-year figures for the Brazilian timber industry show that production in the Amazon has fallen by 50 per cent.

The figures were published in a study carried out by the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) and the Institute of Man and Environment (Imazon), entitled 'Logging Activities in the Brazilian Amazon.'

They show that in 1998, roundwood production in the region was 28.3 million cubic metres while the figures for 2009 show total production to be only 14.2 million cubic metres.