According to official China Customs statistics, China’s total timber import volume stood at 14.3 million cubic metres in the first quarter of 2026, representing a decline of 12.7% from the corresponding period a year earlier.

Classified by product: Log imports totalled 7.2 million cubic metres, down 11% year-on-year; sawn timber imports reached 5.02 million cubic metres, with a year-on-year drop of 14%.

Import Structure

Of log imports, softwood logs totalled 5.17 million cubic metres, down 11% from the corresponding period a year earlier at an average unit price of USD 243 per cubic metre (a 4% drop from the same period a year earlier); hardwood logs reached 1.99 million cubic metres, falling 13% year-on-year with an average price of USD 551 per cubic metre (up 3% from the corresponding period a year earlier).

In terms of sawn imports, softwood sawn stood at 2.73 million cubic metres, a 23% year-on-year decrease at USD 426 per cubic metre (unit price declining 8% from the corresponding period a year earlier); hardwood sawn came to 2.29 million cubic metres, edging up 0.16% from the corresponding period a year earlier at an average unit price of USD 730 per cubic metre (rising 8% year-on-year).

Q1 Timber Import Downturn Contributing Factors

-Combined macroeconomic and policy-driven factors

Chinese New Year factory shutdowns in February dragged monthly import volumes down by 31%; revised ocean freight and port logistics arrangements disrupted cargo deliveries; domestic wood processors destocked inventories intentionally and scaled back bulk purchasing orders.

- Persistent sluggish downstream demand

Falling new housing construction starts and a downturn in the construction sector, paired with muted consumption in furniture and home renovation markets, have suppressed overall timber procurement demand. Demand for construction-grade lumber such as radiata pine and spruce registered notable declines.

-Expanded domestic timber supply

Rising domestic output stemmed from maturing planted forests entering scheduled harvesting cycles and concentrated timber yield from state-owned reserve forests.

03 Market Shifts of Key Supplier Countries

New Zealand

New Zealand remains China’s top log supplier. Q1 log arrivals totalled 3.9 million cubic metres, down 7% from the corresponding period a year earlier; import value stood at USD 445 million, falling 13% year-on-year, with an average unit price of USD 115 per cubic metre, a year-on-year drop of 11%.

Analysis: Sluggish domestic demand in China, rising domestic fuel and logistics costs in New Zealand, the country’s industrial shift toward higher-value wood processing, plus expanded sales into emerging markets such as India are set to keep curbing log exports over the medium and long term.

Russia

Russia continues to be China’s largest sawn timber supplier, with Q1 sawn timber imports registering 1.9 million cubic metres, a 28.7% decline from the prior-year corresponding period.

Analysis: China’s annual sawn timber imports from Russia stayed generally steady between 2021 and 2025, edging down moderately from 14.2 million cubic metres in 2021 to 11.2 million cubic metres in 2025. Q1 2026 imports at 1.9 million cubic metres extend this gradual downward trend.

United States

China’s Q1 log imports from the US reached 0.15 million cubic metres, plummeting 56% year-on-year, while sawn timber imports hit 0.19 million cubic metres, down 32% year-on-year.

Analysis: A March 2025 log import ban caused an 82% collapse in China’s US log purchases for full-year 2025. The ban was lifted in November, yet import volumes are still in the recovery phase and likely to pick up in H2. Meanwhile, tariff adjustments and Sino-US trade frictions triggered a sharp year-on-year slump in sawn timber inflows from the US.

Canada

Q1 log imports from Canada amounted to 0.3 million cubic metres (down 3.8% year-on-year), and sawn timber imports stood at 0.3 million cubic metres (rising 26% year-on-year).

Analysis: US-Canada softwood tariff barriers have pushed up tariffs on Canadian lumber bound for the US and blocked US-bound shipments. Redirected cargo has flowed into China, fuelling growth in China’s Canadian timber imports.

Germany

Q1 log imports from Germany totalled 88,700 cubic metres, tumbling 60% year-on-year. Germany slipped from 8th among China’s log suppliers in Q1 2025 to 11th in Q1 2026.

Analysis: Completion of pest-infested timber clearance has created structural domestic timber shortage in Germany; the EU prioritises intra-bloc timber supply; export prices have hit all-time highs with average prices climbing 26% year-on-year.

Tropical log Suppliers

Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are China’s two largest tropical log suppliers in Q1 2026, together accounting for 68% of China’s total tropical log imports. Imports from the two nations retreated by 1% and 33% respectively, dragging China’s total tropical log imports down 13% to 1.06 million cubic metres.

By contrast, imports from African nations including Republic of the Congo, DR Congo and Central African Republic posted counter-cyclical growth; South American suppliers such as Suriname and Ecuador recorded robust import increases, reflecting a clear trend toward diversified sourcing channels.

Analysis: Major tropical producers have tightened export regulations alongside weak downstream demand domestically in China. Reduced available supply has lifted market prices, driving steep average price hikes for log from multiple source countries.

China’s decline in timber imports during Q1 2026 resulted from the combined impacts of sluggish domestic demand, tightened overseas supply and restructuring of global supply chains. The downward trend is unlikely to reverse in the short run. The domestic timber sector is accelerating the diversification of procurement channels while coping with dual headwinds of rising costs and subdued market demand.