SEATTLE
,
July 24, 2023
(press release)
–
WRI Market Insights 2023 - a subscription service from Wood Resources International Global Wood Fiber Markets Wood fiber costs for Brazilian pulpmills doubled over the past two years, a much faster pace than the global price index Wood costs for pulpmills in Brazil have steadily increased throughout 2022 and early 2023. Prices for softwood and hardwood pulplogs have double in two years in US dollar terms (slightly less in the Brazilian Real), according to WoodMarket Prices (Wood Resources International, WRI). The surge came after prices reached an almost 20-year low in late 2020. Although there have been significant increases in wood fiber costs over the past few years, current levels are still close to their average for the past two decades. Prices (in Brazilian Real) for Eucalyptus pulplogs have trended upward for about a decade, increasing faster in the past three years by as much as 97% from the 1Q/20 to the 1Q/23. For most of the past ten years, the US dollar has strengthened against the Real, resulting in wood fiber costs trending downward (in USD). However, in the past two years, the exchange rate has been relatively stable. Brazilian wood fiber costs have fluctuated more than any other country tracked by the WRI over the past 35 years. In 1988, Eucalyptus prices averaged less than $35/bdmt. Between 2003 and 2011, the prices increased continuously and peaked at an all-time high in 2011, followed by a downward trend for about nine years. After that, they remained relatively stable, ranging between $25-35/bdmt until 2003, when prices increased for an extended period. Prices peaked at an all-time high in 2011, after which a nine-year downward trend followed until bottoming out at a 16-year low in 2020. Since that turning point, prices have steadily grown to reach their highest levels since 2014 in the 1Q/23. Relative to the Global Hardwood Fiber Price Index (HFPI), Brazilian wood fiber prices have fluctuated more and increased faster over the past two decades. While the HFPI has increased about 40% since 2000, Eucalyptus log prices in Brazil have increased almost 200% over the same period (see chart at WoodMarket Prices). Increased competition for logs, longer transportation distances, and higher labor costs have contributed to Brazil's wood fiber costs rising more steeply than the global average. Wood Resource Quarterly has been digitized and is now available as an interactive online business intelligence platform, WoodMarket Prices (WMP). The pricing data service, established in 1988, has subscribers in over 30 countries. The WMP tracks prices for sawlog, pulpwood, lumber & pellets and reports on trade and wood market developments in most key regions worldwide. For more insights on the WMP platform, a unique and valuable tool for every organisation that requires updates on the latest developments of global forest products markets, please go to Global Wood Prices Contact Information Wood Resources International, a ResourceWise Company Hakan Ekstrom, Seattle, USA
info@WoodPrices.com
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