Pacific Rim hardwood chip exports

Wood chip exports from Australia fell in 2011 to their lowest level in 11 years and Vietnam took over as world’s largest chip exporter of wood chips to pulp mills in Asia, reports the “Wood Resource Quarterly”. In 2011, Vietnam exported 5.4 million tons, triple that in 2007. The good news for wood chip exporters in both Vietnam and Australia has been the steady increase in demand for hardwood chips from China.
Wood chip trade flows in the Pacific Rim have changed substantially the past five years. Vietnam, Chile, Thailand and Uruguay have all been increasing their shipments of chips, while Australia and South Africa have been losing their market share as fiber suppliers to the pulp mills in Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea.