Chinese plywood supply is reported by EU importers to be disrupted by tough new national environmental controls, which are forcing mills to interrupt production to upgrade or replace emission and waste treatment technology. Here prices are reported to have risen 10% in the last six months.<\/p>\n
\u201cInspectors have been visiting our Chinese supplier mills now for months, and we\u2019ve seen regular stoppages as they improve their systems<\/em>,\u201d said one importer\/distributor. \u201cAnd recently there were more in Linyi and Pizhou.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStoppages also increased in Qingdao as part of the authorities moves to improve the local environment for June\u2019s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting<\/em>,\u201d said another leading EU importer.<\/p>\n Some European traders maintain that one reason for the pollution crackdown is to rationalise and concentrate the plywood industry, forcing smaller producers to close.<\/p>\n One European importer\/distributor, however, insisted this was not the prime objective. \u201cWe visit regularly and are convinced it\u2019s motivated by a genuine desire to reduce the industry\u2019s environmental footprint and help meet climate change targets,<\/em>\u201d he said. Importers added that they generally back China\u2019s action as underpinning its overall environmental credibility.<\/p>\n As for the situation with Russian hardwood plywood supplies to the EU, an importer summed it up as \u2018more or less OK\u2019. \u201cBut there have been some issues with a lack of trucking capacity<\/em>,\u201d he said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chinese plywood supply is reported by EU importers to be disrupted by tough new national environmental controls, which are forcing mills to interrupt production to upgrade or replace emission and waste treatment technology. Here prices are reported to have risen … Continue reading