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SOUTH KOREA
WOOD PRODUCTS TRADE OVERVIEW
IMPORT
OVERVIEW
Korea
imported $2.07Bn in forestry products in 2003, making it one of
the top importers in the world. Imports have increased by over
37.0% since 1999, with trade dominated by Asian and Pacific Rim
partners. Top suppliers to the Korean market in 2003 were: New
Zealand (16.7%), Indonesia (16.4%), Malaysia (13.8%), China
(12.8%), and the U.S. (8.4%). Korean imports of Canadian forest
products saw the largest percentage gain, rising 193.9% over the
period analyzed. The U.S.
has seen marginal declines in export values over the period,
with market share given up to the aforementioned competitors.
Primary imports account for 78.8% of total demand, while
secondary imports retained the rest (21.2%).
PRIMARY
PRODUCTS IMPORTS
LOGS
Korean
imports of logs saw moderate growth of 17.2% over the 5-yr
period, reaching $610Bn in total value. Logs represent just over
29% of total wood products demand with Softwood logs being the
dominant category. SW Log imports accounted for 84% of the
import market for all logs. Major suppliers of the Korean log
market were: New Zealand (45.2%), Russia (17.0%), the U.S.
(15.5%), and Australia (5.8%). Imports of U.S. logs saw
significant growth of 37.5%, nearly double the average, for the
period. Top performing countries were New Zealand,
Russia, and Canada. Canadian logs rose by over 600% from 1999
levels making Canada the 5th larger supplier of logs to Korea.
LUMBER
Lumber
imports, in terms of total value, were down -21% over the 5-yr
period reaching $205M in 2003. Hardwood lumber accounted for the
lion’s share of demand at $143M, while SW lumber saw
significantly less “bleeding” than its counterpart. Top
suppliers to the Korean lumber market were: Indonesia (29.7%),
Malaysia (14.0%), the U.S. (12.4%), China (12.1%), and Canada
(11.9%).
PANEL
PRODUCTS: PLYWOOD, VENEERS, FIBERBOARD, AND PARTICLEBOARD
Plywood, at
$417M, was the second most imported primary product in Korea in
2003, accounting for 20.2% of the entire market. HW Plywood
represented 94% of total Plywood imports making it the dominant
category. Indonesia, Malaysia, and China were the largest
suppliers to Korea, with a combined market share of 89.9%. The U.S.
ranked a distant 8th with only .3% of the market, giving
evidence to a highly concentrated supply chain for Plywood.
Veneer imports nearly doubled over the 5-yr period, ending at
166M kg or $99.4M in value. Growth from 1999 to 2003 reached 91%
with preference given to New Zealand,
Malaysian, and Chinese sourced veneers. New Zealand,
with several years of underperformance, ramped up exports to
1.8M kg in 2003. The U.S. reached a 2.7% market share in Korea
on modest growth of 29.3% over the period, ending at 4.4M kg
shipped. In terms of total value of products, the U.S. ranked
3rd with 12.8% of the total value of Korean veneer imports.
Fiberboard reached 407M kg in 2003, up almost 150% from 1999
volumes, but down -27.9% from 2002. Total value of fiberboard
imports reached $109M, with Medium Density Fiberboard being the
preferred category at $98M in 2003. MDF was up almost 250% over
1999 levels. Top suppliers of Fiberboard to Korea
were: Australia (18.6%), Indonesia (13.4%), Malaysia (11.2%),
and New Zealand (10.4%) once again. Imports of U.S. manufactured
fiberboard dropped 94% over the period, ending at 711,000 kg
shipped. The U.S. had almost 8% of the market in 1999. Strong
gains were made by Malaysia and Australia at the top to take up
the lost market share of U.S.
underperformance. Particleboard imports reached highs of 650M kg
in 2002, dropping back off to 442M kg in 2003. Still, imports of
particleboard showed significant improvement over 1999 volumes
with growth of 56.4% over the period. Imports of particleboard
yielded $78M in sales in 2003, up 42.6%. The largest supplier to
the Korean market was Belgium at 19.6%, followed closely by
Thailand at 18.1%. Again, OSB/Waferboard showed marked growth at
almost 360% from 1999-2003, reaching a value of $24.6M.
SECONDARY
PRODUCTS IMPORTS
Korean
imports of secondary products reached $439M, increasing by 122%
from 1999 totals. This growth came on the back of huge increases
in imports of Wood Furniture, gaining 196% over the period. As
evidenced by the adjacent chart, Wood Furniture dominates the
Korean import market, with significant growth in all major
sub-categories. Sub-categories dominating secondary imports were
Wood Framed Seats, Wood Furniture Parts, Kitchen Furniture, and
Builders Carpentry. HW FMS also held a sizeable amount of the
secondary market at $29.7M in 2003.
U.S.
EXPORT OVERVIEW
South Korea
is the 8th largest trading partner with the U.S.
for forestry products. In 2003, the U.S.
exported over $160M to South Korea,
down from $164 million in 1999. This change represents an 5yr
loss of - 2.1%. Top products exported to South Korea are
Softwood Logs, Hardwood Lumber, Hardwood Logs, and Hardwood
Veneers. Currently, the U.S. has captured 8.4% of the entire
South Korean market. However, exports are down marginally, and
Koreas imports have been steadily rising since 1999. Top
competitors in the Korean market are New Zealand, Indonesia,
Malaysia, China, and Russia. Canada, China, Russia, and New
Zealand have all seen marked improvements since 1999, and are
steadily taking market share away from the U.S. Top categories
exported to Korea in 2003 included: Logs, Lumber, Wood
Furniture, Veneer Sheets, Fuel Wood/Wood Chips, and Builders’
Carpentry; in order of total value.
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