Between 16 and 18 October 2019 the 67th edition of the International Softwood Conference was held in Antwerp in the facilities of the Radisson Blu Astrid Hotel. This year's conference was attended by around 180 participants from all over the world. The Conference was hosted by the Belgian Federation of Textile, Wood and Furniture Industries (Fedustria) and, as usual, by the European Organization of the Sawmill Industries (EOS) and the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF).
Richy Zhang from forest and timber company Senhua has delivered an update to the Chinese market. Since 2016, China has seen an increasing total demand for wood. While in 2016 there were 558 million m3, demand increased to 580 million m3 in 20188.
In 2019, demand is expected to rise up to 590 million m3 and to 600 million m3 by 2020.
Imports have risen rapidly. In 2008, only 40 million m3 of wood products were imported to China. Ten years later, imports reached 110 million m3.