According to the General Administration of Customs, in the first five months of 2024, China imported a total of 2.12 million cubic meters of Thai rubberwood, and the trade volume increased by 27%; The Chinese market is once again far ahead in importing Thai rubber wood.
The annual import volume of rubber wood accounts for about 40% of the total annual import of hardwood sawn timber in the mainland, while Shunde, Foshan accounts for 80% of the total import of rubber wood in the country. There is no doubt that China is the largest market for imports of rubber wood sawn timber. Among them, Thailand has the largest import volume.
Why does China import a lot of rubberwood from Thailand? Is it a lack of rubberwood?
According to the data of the Federation of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) and the International Rubber Research Group (IRSG), in 2022, the global natural rubber planting area reached 13.167 million hectares, and the main production areas are concentrated in Asia, accounting for more than 90% of the world. (*Since rubber wood processing is mainly carried out by rubber cultivation, the scale corresponds to the area under natural rubber cultivation.) ）
Among them, Thailand ranks first in the world with 3.865 million hectares, accounting for nearly 30% of the global rubber planting area. followed by Indonesia with 3.82 million hectares (29%); 8.63% of Malaysia (about 1.136 million hectares). China ranks fourth in the world with 1.124 million hectares, accounting for 8.54% of the world's rubber planting area.
The production of rubberwood in China is mainly located in two places, Hainan and Guangxi.
According to statistics, the rubber planting area in Hainan Province has reached 7.78 million mu, and about 1 million cubic meters of rubber forests can be harvested throughout the year, of which about 520,000 cubic meters can be harvested by Hainan agricultural reclamation and 480,000 cubic meters can be harvested by private rubber plantations.
However, the private rubber forest has scattered and disorderly distribution, short age of rubber trees, small diameter class, low utilization value, etc., which can only be used as a supplement and cannot be used as the main source of logs for timber mills above designated size. As the world's largest rubber producer, Thailand has mainly imported rubber wood from Thailand and other countries for processing and production for many years.
Thailand "roll" but Chinese furniture factory?
According to Wanus Wiraphonson, president of the Thai Rubberwood Business Association, 90% of Thailand's rubberwood is exported to China, and only 10% is consumed by local enterprises.
He admits that Thailand's furniture factories are not competitive in international trade because they cannot produce at lower prices than in China.
However, the dilemma faced by Thai timber traders is not limited to price competition. In fact, Thailand's economy is in a state of weakness, with the industrial production index contracting for more than a year, the longest consecutive period of negative growth on record.
From the beginning of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, more than 1,700 factories in Thailand have been closed, and more than 42,000 people have lost their jobs, according to the KKP Research Center in Thailand. At the same time, the number of new factories is decreasing, from an average of about 150 new plants per month to just 50 per month.
The severe economic situation caused by the sharp increase in bad debts in the manufacturing industry, the structural changes in the economy, and the loss of competitiveness of the Thai industry under technological change are bound to have an impact on the Thai timber industry. And due to the contraction of production and the collapse of factories, the development of the three major industries of leather production, rubber production, wood and machinery manufacturing is worrying.
Returning to the problem that Thai timber traders cannot produce at a lower price than Chinese furniture factories. Thai processing factories think that the price can not be rolled up by Chinese furniture factories, but try to ask, which merchant is willing to "roll" on the price. "Volume" means compressing costs and falling into a "vicious circle" of competing for limited market resources at lower prices.
So, how can timber merchants and furniture manufacturers break the situation? In the view of the industry, breaking the upstream and downstream communication barriers, establishing a two-way equal communication mechanism, or relying on the Internet to explore new procurement models to reduce procurement costs, etc., can undoubtedly promote the stability and sustainable development of the timber industry.
When timber merchants and furniture factories "can't get out of the price", as Huawei's Yu Chengdong said, "no price, no value" is the long-term plan for the survival of enterprises.