Now Available, Russian Language Version Forest Products Annual Market Review 2008-2009

Русская языковая версия Ежегодного обзора рынка лесных товаров за 2008-2009 годы теперь доступна здесь

China becomes a global player in forest products markets - new UNECE/FAO Discussion Paper

Link to UNECE/FAO Discussion Paper 57

Over the last ten years, China has moved from being a modest player in the world’s forest products markets, to becoming one of the leading exporters of manufactured forest products and a major trading partner of both Europe and North America. This is one of the main findings of the UNECE/FAO publication, “The Importance of China’s Forest products Markets to the UNECE Region” released today. China’s forest sector accounted for some 4.8% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2008.

For more information please consult the press release.

Emerging Trade Measures in Timber Markets - Workshop 23 March 2010

This workshop, to be held in Geneva, will cover three main topics: non-tariff measures, tariff measures, and subsidies. The UNECE Timber Committee in 2009 called for a “multi-stakeholder workshop in 2010, dedicated to tariff and non-tariff trade barriers and emerging trade regulations on timber”.  An announcement and programme are available.  Further information and a registration form can be found here.

This one-day workshop, co-organized with the Economic Research and Statistics Division of the WTO will be held just before the meeting of the FAO/UNECE Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE TIMBER SECTION

We are already in 2010, and off to a wintry start.  To find out the latest on the Timber Section activities we invite you to have a look at the latest issue of the newsletter.

"Policy Options for Wood Energy" - Dubrovnik Workshop

The workshop, "Policy Options for Wood Energy ", established a platform for sharing information on wood energy in the western Balkans that it is hoped will serve as a springboard for future cooperation.  A number of country reports provide a good picture of the current situation as well as indicating future potential. Participants valued the opportunity to exchange ideas, identify common issues and begin to map a way forward for wood energy to play a more prominent  role in a region heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels, yet with a significant productive forest area.  An important hurdle to overcome is the perception of wood as an outdated, inefficient source of energy when in fact, using well-dried wood in modern equipment allows up to 90% of the energy content to be recovered and results also in significant emission reduction.The pace of change has been rapid and there have been  important new developments, several of which were highlighted during the course of the workshop.  The report of the meeting, including  conclusions and five recommendations, recognises the need for improved information and for concerted action at the political level, if wood energy is to achieve its full potential. A press release is also available here.

UNECE Timber Committee Week, 12-16 October 2009

UNECE Region Forest Products Markets Forecast to turn up in 2010 – Is this the start of a recovery?

The Timber Committee met from October 13 - 16 with the following outcomes:

More information, as well as the presentations, can be found at the UNECE Timber Committee Week web page

Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2008-2009 now available

UNECE/FAO Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2008-2009, is now available online. The publication provides general and statistical information on forest products markets and related policies in the UN Economic Commission for Europe region (Europe, North America and the Commonwealth of Independent States). Theme for the 2008-2009 edition is “Forest products markets in a global economic crisis”. To access the publication and related detailed statistics, click here. To read the Press Release (available in EN, FR and RU), click here.