Global Trade of Wood Chips Increased Nearly 50% In The Last 10 Years

The global trade in wood chips, which are mainly used by pulp mills to make paper and other products has grown dramatically over the past decade. The increase can be attributed largely on new capacity coming online as well as an overall lack of domestic supplies for raw materials like trees that would produce these items . This situation is not unique only happening here though; similar trends have occurred across many countries around our planet

The recent increase in hardwood chip imports to China has been unprecedented. 2008 saw only one million dollars worth land at Chinese ports, but by 2020 this number had skyrocketed up over 8%. These new mills use rather large amounts of chips for their operations which are precisely what makes them so attractive-they can process more wood than any other types of machine.

There were noticeable changes in Chinese fiber sourcing throughout 2020, and Australia’s shipments fell almost 30% year on year. Vietnam increased its sales by 25%. Over the past two years, Chinese pulp mills shifted from importing Higher Yield Fiber quality (HYF) from regions such as Australia, Chile, and Brazil towards Lower Yield Fiber (LYF), from places like Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.

With the supply of hardwood fiber becoming tighter around the Pacific Rim, the fiber sourcing by Chinese pulp mills will likely continue to evolve, including the possibility of new regions coming into play.