Australia’s total log exports totaled 3.918 million m3 for the year-ended November 2016, recording a 26.1% increase on the prior year. Exports for both coniferous (softwood) and broadleaved (hardwood) species rose by similar amounts, although softwood logs accounted for 91.4% of total exports. Significantly, the value of log exports has continued to grow strongly over recent years, with exports for the year-ended November 2016 valued at AUDFob505.041 million.
The chart below shows the value of total exports of logs and displays the continuous growth in exports over the last four years.
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The export data also shows that the value of monthly exports reached new monthly records in both October and November 2016. In November, the total value of log exports reached AUDFob54.106 million, recording a new monthly record for the fourth time in the last year.
Returning to the volume of exports and the species details, over the year-ended November 2016, softwood log exports totaled 3.579 million m3, a rise of 26.0% on the prior year. Similarly, for hardwood logs, exports totaled 0.332 million m3, up 27.4% on the prior year.
Again, the details are provided below, based on the value of exports.
To go straight to the dashboard and take a closer look at the data, click here.
As expected, softwood log exports dominate value as well as volume, with sales totaling AUDFob428.739 million for the year-ended November 2016, up 39.6% on the previous year. The major hardwood species (represented by the red column), saw exports valued at AUDFob70.185 million over the same period, up 29.0% on the prior year.
As expected, China continues to dominate receipts of Australia’s exports, receiving softwood logs valued at AUD407.685 million and hardwood logs valued at AUDFob50.572 million over the year-ended November 2016.
Australia’s log exports are fast closing in on a volume of 4.0 million m3, having already exceeded the AUDFob500 million mark on an annualized basis. That is a very significant trade by either measure, and raises ongoing questions about the sustainability of domestic supply, especially of softwood logs.
