Increased Exports of This Wood Type to China Expected

According to foreign media reports, the persistent drought and high temperature climate in northeastern France have made trees more susceptible to bark beetle damage, leading to large-scale infections of spruce and fir. According to data released by the French Ministry of Agriculture, more than 110,000 hectares of the 520,000 hectares of land in the region have been infected, causing economic losses of hundreds of millions of euros.

France, which was devastated by bark beetles, is finally determined to increase its efforts to combat forest pests, including supporting timber companies to combat bark beetles, subsidizing the purchase of felling and debarking equipment, and funding 65% of cost assistance, up to 8,000 euros per unit.

The French Ministry of Health said in a statement that "the increasing severity of insect infestations means that existing measures are not effective. The government is setting up a national and local crisis management unit to better prevent and control the spread of insects."

Bark beetles are small insects that attack and infest the bark of trees, causing damage and ultimately the death of the tree. Generally, bark beetle outbreaks result in increased harvests and wood supplies.

However, the wood harvested in this case has been largely infested by beetles, affecting the quality of the wood itself. Moreover, if trees that have not reached sufficient growth age are harvested early, their market price and processing added value will be affected.

Faced with the new supply of wood, the French government said it would actively seek solutions and help sell infected but still usable wood.

According to a previous report by France's Bois Forêt in 2023, the country's timber construction reached 4.6 billion euros in 2023, an increase of 14% since 2020. The industry's current goal is to reach 20% to 30% by 2030, mainly through Competing for market share in concrete.

At the same time, the French Ministry of Health said that the bark beetle-infested wood discovered early will be cut down at the right time and is very suitable for construction; the infected wood will be used in biomass fuel power plants and heating plants. The bark beetle crisis coincides with the French government’s goal of creating a wood-led construction economy.

However, given the current demand in France’s construction industry, it may not be able to consume too much wood supply. Considering that spruce and pine are widely used in construction, furniture and paper, in Xiaolan's view, there is a high possibility that the excess supply will be used for export, especially from a country with a large demand for wood like my country.

As a large number of spruce and pine trees were infested by insect pests, and the French government did not intervene much, the quantity of harvestable wood plummeted, the quality was also affected, and the export supply was greatly reduced.

As one of the main export destinations of French timber, in the first two months of the first quarter of 2024, French timber exports to China decreased by 38%, especially the export volume of spruce and fir logs fell by nearly 90%.

Today, the French government is actively seeking to solve the pest problem to ensure a stable supply of wood. In the Chinese market, the competitiveness of French timber still exists, but whether to increase exports to China in the future still depends on the French government's response measures and pest control effects, as well as the quality of the French timber exported.