BASELINE STUDY 5, Thailand - Forest Trends

4.1 Exports 13
Thailand’s wood export markets are geographically diverse (Figures 1 and 2). By value, China, EU, Japan and the
USA were the largest importers in 2009. Although China made up a large portion by volume in 2009 (29%), it
only made up 17% by value. EU and the USA, on the other hand, were relatively small markets by volume (both
at 3%), but accounted for a high percentage of the value (12% and 10%, respectively).
Figure 2. Thailand Forest Products Exports by Country by Value (million m 3 RWE)
Source: European Forestry Institute, as compiled by James Hewitt, 2010.
Thailand also exports to several regional export platforms including China, Vietnam and Malaysia. Thus Thailand
is both a global competitor of China, Vietnam and Malaysia in some forest industry segments, as well as a
primary supplier to these countries in other industry segments.
China remains the largest destination for Thailand's forestry exports, by both volume and value. Vietnam has
become the second largest destination, increasing dramatically from 1% in 2000 to 10% of Thai exports by volume
in 2009. Malaysia surpassed Japan becoming the third largest destination at 1.29 million m 3 RWE, importing
large amounts of Thai paper and wood panel products. As China is largely importing semi-processed timber
(especially sawnwood and woodchips) from Thailand (see fig. 7), this could be taken as an indication that Thailand
is moving into a subordinate manufacturing position in relation to China’s tertiary manufacturing and export
centres.
Since the Thai logging ban was enacted in 1989, the export-based wood processing industry has expanded significantly.
Paper, wooden furniture, panels, and sawn rubberwood are the primary exports. Minor volumes of
13 It is important to note that significant discrepancies are apparent between the export figures reported by the Thailand
government, and those of the importing countries. For example, according to FAO, one-third of the reported Thai sawnwood
exports are not recorded in the importing countries (2009:60). Further investigation is needed.
© EU FLEGT Facility, BASELINE STUDY 5, Thailand: Overview of Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade, July 2011
This Action is funded by the European Union and the governments of Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. The views expressed herein
can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
www.euflegt.efi.int
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