China now has become a giant in the world’s forest industry: The output of wood-based panels of China ranked top one in the world for the past immediate three consecutive years; and in 2006, the output of wood flooring ranked first around the globe; the output and consumption of paper and cardboards both ranked second; the output and exports of furniture were also in the front rank. 

 

In the meantime, the demand for wood and forest products is surging in China, which imports over 100 million m3 (roundwood equivalent) or USD20 billion plus of wood-based products each year. In particular, the gap between timber demand and supply will be 160~180 million m3 in 2010 and reach 300 million m3 or so by 2015. The contradiction is increasingly intense between the scarcity of forest resources and the huge demand for timber with the continuous economic development, and therefore it is now really imperative for China to solve the problem of timber supply by establishing a long-run timber security system. According to Duan Xinfang, a researcher from Chinese Academy of Forestry, timber security has become a key factor affecting the economic security of China.

 

Timber security denotes a state of balanced supply and demand of timber resources, harmonized logging and forest ecological environment protection, and medium reliance on timber imports, a state in which the supply of timber can guarantee the security of national economic operation. Timber security includes the security of timber resources supply, the security of timber trade and the security of timber environment.

 

The security of timber resources supply refers to a balance between timber resources supply and the basic needs of national forestry industry and related industries. China consumed 330 million m3 of timber in 2006 and has been the second largest timber consumption country only next to the US. However, there are several problems regarding the timber supply in China:

 

l         The total volume of home-produced timber supplied falls short seriously. In 2000-2005, the domestic output of commercial timber only accounted for 16.9~23.9% of the total timber supplied. In addition, this proportion has been declining. The forest area per capita in China is less than one fourth of the world’s average level; the stock volume of forests per capita less than one sixth of the world average.

l         The breeding of large-diameter quality timber, as an important strategic resource used mainly in construction, decoration, furniture and manufacturing, has not been attached decent importance to. In the past, it was primarily logged from natural forests, and now it has to be imported. But the supply is rather short. 

l         The comprehensive utilization rate of timber is low and the recycle of timber is not efficient. In China, the utilization rate of timber is about 63%, while in some developed counties the rate is around 90%. It’s estimated that there is about 8.5 million m3 of waste timber in China’s cities.