Major expansion of pulp manufacturing capacity in China the past five years has resulted in a dramatic increase in the importation of wood chips to supply the new pulp mills, and the country became the world’s largest importer of hardwood chips in the 2Q/13, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are the major suppliers of wood chips, with Vietnam accounting for over 50% of the imported supply.

In just five years, the import value for wood chips has increased from 180 million dollars in 2008 to 1.3 billion dollars in 2012, and this year the estimated import value could be close to 1.5 billion dollars, according the Wood Resource Quarterly.

It has only been a matter of time before China became the largest importer of hardwood chips in the world. In the 2Q/13, China surpassed Japan with the record importation of almost 2.4 million m3 of chips.

Although there have been sporadic shipments of chips from Latin America, Malaysia and South Africa during 2012 and 2013, there are really only four countries that have been supplying China with wood fiber the past few years. Those countries are Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, with Vietnam accounting for over half of the total import volume.

With the continued plans to expand domestic pulp manufacturing in China it, can be expected that shipments of wood chips, both softwood and hardwood, is going to increase in the coming years.