At the annual Truck Logger AGM last week in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Premier Christy Clark spoke about the largest ever shipment of British Columbia wood having just been sent over to India. As well, BC announced first major commercial wood demonstration project in India.
Coming up in March is the annual DelhiWood woodworking show, which is once again sold out according to event organizers.
India Lumber Demand: 2016
Long-term potential for BC products in India are very positive. While traditionally a tropical hardwood market, log export restrictions in Myanmar, Malaysia, and other tropical countries have forced Indian manufacturers to look for alternate wood supply sources. As such, a shift is taking place from both from imported hardwoods to softwoods, and from logs to lumber, says British Columbia Forestry Innovation Investment.
The rapid opening of a market for softwood products presents a unique opportunity to position BC as a reliable supplier of fibre from sustainable sources. This, combined with India’s growing consumption of wood products, reinforces the need for a strong push for Canadian products in the market.
CANADA WOOD OFFICE IN INDIA
The office in India is a collaborative operation managed by BCFii and works in conjunction with Canada Wood and Natural Resources Canada. The India team continues to pursue research activities to stay abreast of the country’s dynamic supply-demand scenario, particularly the increasing appetite for lumber over logs, and the growing willingness by manufacturers to consider softwoods for their products.
Activities in India will benefit from increased funding from the Province of BC, with a goal of increasing Canada’s brand recognition and the exposure of BC species, and increasing early commercialization activities. Investment support will be via a partnership with Natural Resources Canada to support the ongoing operation and outreach activities from the FII India office, and the increasing involvement of the forest industry through Canada Wood.
BRITISH COLUMBIA LUMBER SALES TO INDIA
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark on Thursday at the Truck Logger AGM in Vancouver, BC, announced that the largest shipment of mass timber from British Columbia to India is en route.
This shipment also includes lumber and will be used in the first major commercial wood demonstration project to showcase BC forest products in India.
As India’s economy grows, traditional wood supply cannot meet increasing demand. As a leading supplier of sustainable forest products, British Columbia is seen as an attractive long-term supplier. Support for the project is being provided by the Government of BC’s market development agency for forest products, BCFii, through its India office.
The wood products will be used to construct a facility housing several design workshops at India’s Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, and will serve as a showcase to help grow awareness and demand in India for BC wood products.
BC-INDIA MOA: OCTOBER 2016
During an October 2016 trade mission to India, BC Finance Minister Mike de Jong visited the CEPT University campus to support a partnership between the Province and the university. In November, FII India entered into an agreement to support the extensive use of BC forest products in the project.
Under the agreement, the Province will invest approximately $100,000 to share the costs, with CEPT, of the B.C. wood used in the project and to cover import duties for BC products not currently available in India.
In addition to the glue-laminated arches for the roof assembly supplied by Penticton-based Structurlam, other BC wood products, including those made of hemlock, Douglas fir and yellow cedar, are being used extensively throughout the project in a range of interior and exterior applications. These products are being supplied by Surrey’s Coast Clear Wood and through a donation of lumber from the Coast Forest Products Association.
Annual DelhiWood Show: March 2017
The India woodworking show’s organizers, PDA Trade Fairs, announced that event is again sold out. The exhibition opens on 1st March 2017.
DelhiWood has become the premier destination for wood- working professionals visiting biennially from across the globe. It has become Asia’s only dedicated business-to-business meeting place for the entire woodworking eco system.
Leveraging the success of its previous editions, over 450 leading global brands from 30 countries are expected to participate, growing by 20 per cent compared with previous edition; the show floor is also marking a 25 per cent increase which will span over 25,000 square metres and a projected 20,000 attendees are visiting from across the Asian countries.
DelhiWood will continue providing a perfect platform for woodworking solutions, machineries, materials and components to showcase their products, innovative technologies and production scenarios to key furniture / kitchen manufacturers, architects, interior designers and builders.
INDIA WOOD DEMAND: 2016
During January-July 2016, total import of softwood lumber in India, was equal to 252 000 cubic metres, according to WoodStat. Among India’s main trading partners in North America and Europe, Germany become a dominant market player in India, with a share equal to almost 70 per cent.
The import of softwood lumber in India remained on the same level as in 2015 (around 252-253 thousands cubic metres). Nevertheless, Germany proved to be a main market player on this market, and compared with January-July 2015, the import from Germany increased by nearly 30 per cent, from 133 to 172 thousand cubic metres.
ILLEGALLY HARVESTED TIMBER: INDIA
India is the third largest importer of the illegally logged timber in the world, shows a study by the International Union of Forest Research Organisations, a world-wide collaboration of scientists and research institutions working on forestry sciences, said the Hindustan Times December 20.
With an annual import value of over Rs 40 billion, the country accounts for close to 10 per cent of the global illegal wood trade.
According to the report, 42 per cent of the total roundwood and sawnwood traded globally is harvested illegally. The top producers of illegal timber are the countries in South East Asia and Amazon such as Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brazil followed by the Russian Federation and Papua New Guinea. The largest consumer of illegally harvested wood is China followed by Vietnam.
Due to required timber legality verification in other developed countries, timber trade has shifted to markets such as China and India, where less stringent regulation is in place, says the report. The economic growth in these two countries is also driving the demand for illegally harvested timber.
From 2006 to 2013, the import volume of illegal wood products by China, India and Vietnam increased by more than 50 per cent whereas the illegal import volume slashed by one-third for the US and one half for the EU, respectively, which have put in place stringent verification process for legality of timber in the past few years.