China’s Redwood log imports fell 57% to 628,300m3 in the first three quarters of 2015, according to the Chinese Redwood Committee. The average price for logs declined 15% in the same period while earnings dropped 64% YoY to US$705 million.

Sawn imports fell more than half the volume and value totaling 89,000m3 and US$161 million in the first nine months of last year.

The main sources of Redwoods are Africa and Southeast Asia. In the first nine months of last year 62% of Redwoods came from Africa.

Although the Redwood trade is considered profitable, there is little interest in planting commercial trees in China as the species grows slowly and harvest rotations take a long time.

There are about 11,000 Redwood processing enterprises in China. The majority are in Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong province.