Ambila dominates redwood furniture market

Observers report that the current demand in China for ambila (Pterocarpus erinaceus) is for between 8- 9,000 containers per month. However, existing container arrivals total only 4,100 with around 2,000 coming through Guangdong, 500 via Dongyang in Zhejiang province, 500 through Shanghai and Zhangjiagang with a further 300 containers landing in both Zhejiang and Hebei Provinces. Ambila also goes by the names bani, tolo and ban.

The sales of ambila furniture in the top tier cities account for 5% of total sales. This jumps to 15% in second tier cities, 50% in third tier cities and 10% in rural areas. Ambila furniture products comprise around 50% of the redwood furniture market.

First okoume logs through Zhenjiang Port

Over 8,000 cubic metres of okoume logs from Equatorial Guinea were recently imported through Zhenjiang Port, Jiangsu Province. This was the first time for African timbers to enter China through Zhenjiang Port. The port of Zhenjiang is on the south bank of the Yangtze River between Nanjing and Changzhou.

After inspection and quarantine the okoume logs were trucked to Linyi City of Shandong Province. Zhenjiang Port is becoming entry point in support of the national strategic timber reserve policy and is the first purpose built timber port.

The species and volumes of timber imports through Zhenjiang port have been increasing this year in tandem with the opening of special timber wharf at the port. Up to the end of April some 450,000 cubic metres of logs have entered China through this port.

Imported laminated flooring is popular amongst young consumers

According to a recent market survey young Chinese consumers prefer imported laminated flooring over domestic products.

The main reasons cited for this preference were the wide choice of colours especially if available in ‘pavement’ styles, even at the expense of foot comfort.

Other reasons for the preference for imported laminated floorings were convenient installation as imported laminated flooring can be glue-less with an interlocking slot design which is easy for consumers to install by themselves.

Consumers also reported that imported laminated flooring is durable and with better anti-slip features than domestic flooring.

Prices for imported laminated flooring are considered reasonable for many middle class Chinese. Current retail prices for imported laminated flooring are in the region of RMB3-700/panel, well down on the RMB8-1,000 seen in 2012.

Consumers also rate the environmental performance of imported flooring higher than domestic products.

The Standard E0 for European flooring is less than 0.9mg/L formaldehyde emission while the Standard for domestic flooring (E1) is “not exceeding 1.5mg/L formaldehyde emissions”.

Local experts note that the market share of imported laminated flooring is less than 20% in Guangzhou City but anticipate sales of imported laminated flooring could reach a 50% market share within the next five years.

Furniture enterprises relocate to Qingfeng

It has been reported that furniture enterprises in Beijing and Xianghe (Hebei Province) have been relocating to Qingfeng County in He’nan Province and this is being encouraged by the administration in Qingfeng County.

It is reprted that as many as 400 furniture enterprises have relocated which in 2015 earned Qingfeng County the title of ‘Furniture Industry Base – 2015’. The administration has been encouraging furniture clusters in the county.

(Source: globalwood.org)