Total imports for the 12 month period ending August 2015 were AUD1.729 billion and increase 22.5%. While the lift seems very significant from a domestic industry perspective, it is important to note that over the same period, the Australian Dollar depreciated 20.8% against the US Dollar. This impact maybe seen more clearly when comparing with the year-end comparison for July 2015 of AUD1.723 billion which was only 0.3% different.
Not all transactions for imported wood products are conducted in US Dollars. Many transactions are in Euro. Nonetheless, despite the appearance of the chart below, imports have grown significantly by value over the last year, but by less on a volume basis.
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Many wood products make up total imports each year. Grouped by their major product types, it is clear, as the table below shows, that the import experience has been quite varied – though largely up – over the last year.
| YE Aug ’14 (AUD‘000) | YE Aug ’15 (AUD‘000) | YoY % Change | |
| Woodchips & Pellets | 3,407.2 | 3,212.5 | -5.7 |
| Roundwood | 0.7 | 0.8 | 14.3 |
| Coniferous Sawnwood | 289,564.2 | 357,123.2 | 23.3 |
| Tropical Sawnwood | 40,112.1 | 35,908.0 | -10.5 |
| Hardwood Sawnwood | 36,196.3 | 51,950.3 | 43.5 |
| Veneer | 14,989.0 | 22,980.0 | 53.3 |
| Mouldings | 340,686.6 | 417,027.8 | 22.4 |
| Particleboard | 38,046.5 | 42,992.1 | 13.0 |
| MDF Hardboard | 105,503.4 | 119,493.4 | 13.3 |
| Plywood | 215,842.4 | 267,185.0 | 23.8 |
| Builder’s Joinery | 323,224.4 | 410,787.0 | 27.1 |
Leaving aside Veneer imports, the value of which have more than doubled over the year-ended August 2015 but from a low base, and the similarly impacted Hardwood Sawnwood, it is imports of Builder’s Joinery that has performed best over the period. Builder’s Joinery imports are addressed in the next item in this edition of Statistics Count.
