Swedish exports of sawn and planed softwood were up 5% in January-November 2015 compared with the same period 2014, according to Statistics Sweden. Exports in November were up 2% compared with the same month last year.
Sweden’s biggest export market in Europe – the UK – received 2.544 million m3 of the sawn and planed timber exports during January-November. This was an increase of 4.5% on the previous year.
Planed exports to the UK increased by 7.5% to 1.608 million m3, while sawn pine exports rose 2.6% to 552,400m3.
Sweden’s second largest market in Europe – Germany – saw sawn and planed export volumes rise 7.4% to 969,300m3, though planed products were down 4.8% to 304,300m3.
Declining Swedish exports to Egypt last year were demonstrated in a 13.8% reduction for sawn and planed products to 1.179 million m3. The bulk of this reverse came from sawn products, with sawn pine volumes falling 8.2% to 944,400m3 and sawn spruce exports reducing by 32.4% to 192,000m3.
For the period, sawn and planed exports to China were up 13.2% to 514,800m3, while the US market has recorded a big increase – up 88.5% to 246,300m3.