Global plywood producers can no longer rely on the construction market to survive and must upgrade production facilities to diversify into the “niche” flooring, high-density fibreboard and panelling markets. Furniture products are also high on the agenda for new markets, especially with the ongoing enforcement of Illegal Logging Regulations here in Australia,’ says Australian Furniture Association CEO, Patrizia Torelli.
Global Plywood Must Produce Higher-Value Products as they face stronger competition. They must invest in new tech and secondary processed wood products to compete with new mass timber products according to Sheam Satkuru, executive director of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), who spoke last week at the International Conference on Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests in Malaysia.
Instead, “they must upgrade their facilities and prepare to invest in new technologies and machinery to manufacture new plywood products,” with “the future of tropical plywood, to capture the niche market by adopting to changing demand for products both at the lower and higher-end users.”
Over the past twenty years, China has become the global engine room for plywood production, accounting for more than 71% of production in 2020, with Chinese-controlled interests now diversifying into Malaysia and Indonesia.
READ MORE Sink or Swim: Global Plywood Must Produce Higher-Value Products | Wood Central
*Source Wood Central