Forest Products Trade Research Articles

Texas trade in forest products industry

Texas boasts abundant forest resources, providing substantial economic and ecological benefits statewide. This study examines the trends in forest product trade within Texas over the past two decades, focusing on key disruptions during this period. The analysis categorizes the forest products industry into two main markets: solid wood and paper and pulp, further dividing the industry into five core sectors. The findings indicate that Texas operates as a net importer of solid wood and wood furniture products while serving as a net exporter of wood pulp and, paper and paperboard products. Both import and export values have generally shown a gradual increase over time. Notably, Mexico emerged as Texas’s primary trade partner for both imports and exports in 2023. Additionally, Texas ranks as the second-largest exporter of paper and paperboard products nationally while also being the second-largest importer of solid wood products and wood furniture products. The study highlights the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic response on Texas’s trade dynamics, emphasizing the crucial need for ongoing monitoring of trade policies and international relationships. These factors have the potential to exert significant influence on Texas’s trade landscape in the foreseeable future.

Investigating the role of biomass energy consumption and forest products trade on the forest footprint in Finland: an environmental Kuznets curve analysis

AbstractForests are essential in mitigating climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide and maintaining ecosystems, mainly through preserving biodiversity. For this reason, the sustainability of forests is essential for human life. This paper examines the role of biomass energy consumption, forest product trade, and economic growth on Finland’s forest footprint from 1970 to 2018. By employing Fourier-based unit root and cointegration tests, we confirm the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, demonstrating a long-term relationship in which economic growth first raises, then reduces the forest footprint. Biomass energy consumption and forest products trade show an insignificant long-term effect on the forest footprint. We found unidirectional causality from the forest footprint to biomass energy consumption and economic growth. This research fills a gap by focusing on the under-researched forest footprint within the EKC framework, particularly in Finland’s context of stringent forestry policies. Our findings emphasize the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance environmental policy and sustainability practices. We further contribute to the broader literature on sustainable forest management and offer actionable policy recommendations for enhancing Finland’s environmental strategies.

Static Resilience Evolution of the Global Wood Forest Products Trade Network: A Complex Directed Weighted Network Analysis

This paper analyzes the static resilience of global wood forest products trade networks across upstream, midstream, downstream, and recycling sectors using a complex directed weighted network approach. By examining topological features and resilience from 2002 to 2021, this study reveals significant structural evolution and scale expansion in these networks. It finds improvements in network efficiency and resilience, alongside an increase in weighted hierarchy highlighting the prominent roles of core countries like China, the US, and Germany. While these countries bolster network resilience, they also introduce certain vulnerabilities. This study finds notable disassortative mixing without trade volume weights and diversified trends with weights, offering new insights into network dynamics. Core nodes must address disruption risks, enhance diversity, and establish emergency response mechanisms. In the recycling sector, this paper highlights weak trade connections and low resilience, with the US maintaining dominance, China’s influence waning, and India’s rapid ascent. This paper concludes by emphasizing the need for refined indicator systems and deeper explorations into resilience enhancement strategies for operational and targeted suggestions.

Forest Products Trade and Sustainable Development in China and the USA: Do Bioenergy and Economic Policy Uncertainty Matter?

The United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development has induced the empirics to find the factors that can contribute to sustainable development. However, limited empirical evidence has estimated the impact of forest trade, bioenergy, and economic policy uncertainty on sustainable development. This study fills the gap by analyzing the impact of forest trade, bioenergy, and economic policy uncertainty on sustainable development in China and the USA using the ARDL and QARDL approaches. The findings of the ARDL model suggest that forest trade helps boost both short- and long-run sustainable development in China and the USA, while bioenergy fosters sustainable development in the short and long run only in China and in the USA, bioenergy improves sustainable development only in the long run. In contrast, economic policy uncertainty hurts sustainable development in the short and long run in China, while in the USA, only the long-run negative association between the two variables is observed. Thus, policymakers in China and the USA need to focus on enhancing trade in forest products, fostering bioenergy generation, and reducing uncertainties in economic policy to promote sustainable development.

Trade Creation or Diversion?—Evidence from China’s Forest Wood Product Trade

In recent years, trade protectionism and unilateralism have prevailed, and countries around the world have imposed restrictions on log exports. It has also become more difficult for China to import wood resources and export deep-processed wood forest products. Based on panel data from 2000 to 2019, this study uses social network analysis to measure the level of the Chinese wood forest product trade network, takes the Chinese free trade agreements (FTAs) as the natural experiment, and uses the multi-stage double-difference method to investigate the impact of the signed FTAs on China’s wood forest product trade. The study finds that the trade network of Chinese wood forest products is becoming increasingly complex, and the central position of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the network is increasing year by year. The signing of FTAs has had a significant positive impact on the trade of wood forest products in China and a significant trade creation effect. This finding remains true after conducting the placebo test and propensity score-matched regression control. At the same time, the import of wood forest products in China will have a significant trade transfer effect due to the signing of FTAs, and this will not affect exports. Although FTAs show significant trade creation and trade transfer effects in China’s wood forest product trade, they also increase, to a certain extent, the mismatch of forest resources worldwide.

Global value chain participation, trade cost and benefits of timber industry

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of global value chain participation (GVCP) on the gains from trade and trade costs of the timber industry and reveal the underlying influence mechanism. The GVCP Index, Novy (2011) method, and WWZ Value Added Decomposition method have been used to measure the degree of global value chain participation, trade costs, and gains from trade of the timber industry, respectively. The results show that the export gains from trade of the timber industry featured inter-annual sustainability. Further, GVCP, has an insignificant impact, suggesting that the industry’s degree of GVCP is limited. While the current trade cost and policy barriers to forest product trade harm it. And the cost of export trade has a strong lag effect on gains from trade. The increase of current trade costs reduces the short-term benefits; but in the long run, the trade costs and benefits show a synchronous growth trend. To maintain and enhance its competitiveness, therefore, the industry will have to change the GVCP degree and mode of the timber industry, reduce short-term trade costs, and improve the quality and legitimacy certification level of timber products.

Evidence to support phytosanitary policies–the minimum effective heat treatment parameters for pathogens associated with forest products

Research on reducing the movement of pests on wood products has led to several options for safer trade including heat treatment of wood to mitigate pests. In this study, pathogenic organisms commonly regulated in the trade of forest products were tested to determine the minimum heat dose (temperature and time) required to cause mortality. The mycelial stage of tree pathogens, Heterobasidion occidentale, Grosmannia clavigera, Bretziella fagacearum, Phytophthora cinnamomi, P. lateralis, P. ramorum and P. xmultiformis, which may be found in untreated wood products, were tested in vitro using the Humble water bath with parameters simulating the rate of heat applied to wood in a commercial kiln. RNA detection using reverse transcription real-time PCR was used to validate pathogen mortality following treatment for: P. ramorum, P. lateralis, P. cinnamomi, P. xmultiformis and G. clavigera. The lethal temperature for all pathogens ranged from 44 to 50°C for a 30-min treatment duration. Using this method to evaluate heat treatment for other forest product pests is recommended to accurately identify the minimum dose required to support phytosanitary trade. With more data potentially lower heat treatment applications may be recommended under specific conditions to produce more efficient and economical heat treatment schedules and reduce environmental impacts.

Mitigating the rise of unilateralism: lessons from forestry management

Abstract This article responds to the rise in unilateralism in trade policy (particularly from the EU and USA) and considers how its negative effects, especially concerning developing countries, can be mitigated through the use of instruments of trade law in the practice of economic diplomacy. It does this in three steps: first, it challenges the dichotomy between unilateral and plurilateral approaches to trade policy, and reframes this rise in unilateralism as conceptually and practically linked to the increasing plurality of trade law’s actors, sources, and institutions (the plural-unilateral dynamic); second, trade in forest products is used as a case study to examine this dynamic, identifying underlying tensions in the use of unilateral and plurilateral policies as well as potential mechanisms of accommodation; finally, in step three, the article identifies two related avenues of accommodation to improve participation and engagement—leveraging structures of meta-governance in trade (dialogues, committees, and standards bodies). In doing so, this article both reframes debates around unilateralism and plurilateralism in trade law and policy, and places the hitherto underexplored practice of economic diplomacy at the heart of means to improve trade relations.

Role of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Consortium in Strengthening the Livelihoods of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) gatherers in Tribal Districts of Odisha

Abstract: Minor forest products (MFPs) serve as indispensable pillars supporting the intricate socio-economic fabric of tribal communities, permeating every aspect of their livelihoods. These natural resources not only sustain their existence but also serve as conduits for economic sustenance and cultural preservation. The collection and trade of minor forest products emerge as vital lifelines for tribal households, constituting primary avenues for income generation and economic stability. Through meticulous seasonal gathering, tribal members procure a rich diversity of Non-Timber Forest Products (MINOR FOREST PRODUCESMFPs) essential for their sustenance, encompassing a spectrum of necessities ranging from nourishment to medicinal remedies. These products, intricately woven into the tapestry of tribal life, include a plethora of resources such as medicinal plants, succulent fruits, aromatic resins, and an array of other non-timber forest products, each holding profound significance in the daily lives of forest-dwelling communities.

International application of global forest product model and the reference to China

PurposeThis article summarizes the international scientific research output of global forest product models, infers future research trends and provides reference for quantitative analysis and mathematical modeling of Chinese forest product problems, with the aim of contributing to promoting domestic production of Chinese forest products and strengthening international trade competitiveness of forest products.Design/methodology/approachIn 1999, Joseph Buongiorno, a scholar at the University of Wisconsin in the United States of America, proposed the global forest products model (GFPM), which was first applied to research in the global forestry sector. GFPM is a recursive dynamic model based on five assumptions: macroeconomics, local equilibrium, dynamic equilibrium, forest product conversion flow and trade inertia. Using a certain year from 1992 to present as the base period, it simulates and predicts changes in prices, production and import and export trade indicators of 14 forest products in 180 countries (regions) through computer programs. Its advantages lie in covering a wide range of countries and a wide variety of forest products. The data mainly include forest resource data, forest product trade data, and other economic data required by the model, sourced from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Bank, respectively.FindingsCompared to international quantitative and modeling research in the field of forest product production and trade, China's related research is not comprehensive and in-depth, and there is not much quantitative and mathematical modeling research, resulting in a significant gap. This article summarizes the international scientific research output of global forest product models, infers future research trends, and provides reference for quantitative analysis and mathematical modeling of Chinese forest product problems, with the aim of contributing to promoting domestic production of Chinese forest products and strengthening international trade competitiveness of forest products.Originality/valueOn the basis of summarizing and analyzing the international scientific research output of GFPM, sorting out the current research status and progress at home and abroad, this article discusses potential research expansion directions in 10 aspects, including the types, yield and quality of domestic forest product production, international trade of forest products, and external impacts on the forestry system, in order to provide new ideas for global forest product model research in China.

Analysis of the Trade Network of Global Wood Forest Products and its Evolution from 1995 to 2020

Abstract Global trade of wood forest products is a complex system, and its flow between trading countries forms a trade network of wood forest products. The transmission efficiency of the trade network largely depends on its network structure. The commonly used method in recent years to analyze the network structure is complex network analysis. Therefore, this study used the complex network method, through using kernel density curves every 5 years to show distribution changes of complex network indictors to study the evolution of the trade network of global trade of wood forest products, based on trade data from 1995 to 2020. The results show that the trade relationship between countries is deepening. Compared with resource-based wood forest products, the trade of deeply processed wood forest products is larger in scale, more complex in structure, and more closely linked. The core countries in global wood forest products trade mainly comprise North American and European countries, while several developing countries in Asia with abundant forest and labor endowments are gradually joining the core tier and jointly control the trade market. We also revealed the intervention of world forestry development goals and national forestry policies on changes to trade structure and trade groups.

Exploring the Brussels Effect

The European Union (EU) wields significant influence over global markets through a phenomenon known as the Brussels Effect. This strategy involves aligning EU standards with regulations, effectively positioning the EU as a key driver of environmental and climate trade standards. Within the realm of trade in forest products, the EU has implemented instruments such as the Timber Regulation (EUTR), which was succeeded by Deforestation Free (EUDR) in 2023, and the EU Forest Law, Governance, and Trade Action Plan (FLEGT). These regulations have exerted considerable pressure on Brazil to embrace best practices for timber extraction, primarily by adhering to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and other private initiatives. The implications of EU influence in this context give rise to both positive and negative consequences, underscoring its significance in shaping global forest policies.

Export Growth and Quality Determination of Wood Forest Products: Evidence from China

The rapid-developed scale of China’s trade in wood forest products has undergone a considerable uptick. Concomitant with the evolution of high-quality development paradigms, product quality within trade frameworks has gained escalating scrutiny. Based on the statistical analysis of the export characteristics of China’s wood forest products, this study leverages BACI data spanning from 1998 to 2017. Utilizing regression-based inverse methods, the study quantifies the quality attributes of these export products, dissects fluctuations in quality, and places particular emphasis on the markets within “Belt and Road Initiative” economies to elucidate dynamic trends and spatial distribution characteristics of export quality in this geoeconomic domain. Based on this, the fixed effect model, random effect model, and system GMM are used to empirically examine the influencing factors of China’s wood forest product export quality. This study found that wood-based panel products have the highest quality, followed by paper products and wood furniture among the three major categories of wood forest products. Besides, the overall quality levels of the three products exported to countries participating in the Belt and Road initiative haven’t significantly changed, while notable changes are evident across divergent export destination markets. In addition, an empirical study on the influencing factors of the export product quality of wood forest products is conducted, which indicates that total factor productivity, R&D investment, capital intensity, labor costs, and foreign direct investment are influencing factors. Finally, based on the research conclusions, suggestions are provided on how to improve the export quality of wood forest products.

Linkage between forest cover and trade in forest products: an empirical evidence from BRICS and EU nations

Linkage between forest cover and trade in forest products: an empirical evidence from BRICS and EU nations

A Gravity Model Analysis of Forest Products Trade Between Turkey and European Union Countries

The study aimed to understand the determining factors of the trade between Turkey and the European Union (EU) countries in the forest products sector and assess Turkey’s forest product export potential to the EU. The study period was from 2005 to 2020 and focused on HS44, HS47, and HS48 forest product groups. A gravity model was estimated using panel data with the Ordinary Least Squares, Random Effects, and Hausman-Taylor estimation methods. Results indicate that the forest products exports from Turkey to the EU are significantly influenced by the Gross Domestic Product, the population of Turkey and the EU partner, and negatively by the relative forest endowment. The elasticities estimated were then used to predict the export potential of Turkey in the trade of forest products. The findings revealed that the predicted forest export value exceeded Turkey’s actual forest products export to Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia and Spain from 2005 to 2020.

Research on the Policy Effects and Impact Mechanisms of the Belt and Road Initiative on China’s Forest Products Trade

The Belt and Road Initiative, as an important measure for China in terms of opening up and participating in international economic and trade cooperation, has become a new driving force for the sustainable development of China’s forest products trade. This paper takes the Belt and Road Initiative as a policy event and evaluates its policy effects on the development of China’s forest products trade from the causal level through the difference-in-differences model (DID), explores the policy effect in detail from the perspectives of product heterogeneity and regional heterogeneity, and clarifies the specific impact mechanism. The main results are as follows: (1) there is a significant policy promotion effect of the Belt and Road Initiative on the growth of the bilateral trade scale of forest products between China and the countries along the route. (2) In terms of product structure, the policy promotion effect of the Belt and Road Initiative is mainly manifested in processed wood products. (3) In terms of regional distribution, the policy promotion effects of the Belt and Road Initiative are mainly concentrated in Europe, Africa, and Asia. (4) The “logistics performance, political partnership with China, and Internet penetration” of trading countries play a significant positive mediating role in the policy effects of the Belt and Road Initiative. Therefore, in view of the significant role of the Belt and Road Initiative in promoting the development of bilateral forest products trade, China should promote more countries to participate in the joint construction of the Belt and Road and tap new momentum for the development of the forest products trade by focusing on key countries, priority areas, and key products.

Resilient forest-based value chains? Econometric analysis of roundwood prices in five European countries in the era of natural disturbances

Climate change poses a growing threat to European forests due to the increasing frequency and severity of storms, insect outbreaks, and other natural disturbances. Natural disturbances affect both the volume and the quality of harvested wood and increase the tendency of increased salvage loggings, reducing roundwood prices over the short-term. The increase of unexpected inflow of wood resources prompted by disturbance-induced salvage logging can undermine the stability of forest-based value chains. In addition to supply shocks, rebuilding can increase the demand for wood products in regions affected by storms. This study assesses the impact of supply and demand shocks on roundwood prices. An econometric analysis was performed focusing on five forest-rich European countries (Austria, Czechia, Germany, Finland, and Sweden), applying the theory of price transmission and using a set of candidate resilience predictors that were expected to moderate shock impacts. We used annual time series data in differenced form on salvage logging, forest products production and trade, and roundwood prices. We found that disturbances tend to increase the domestic prices of sawlogs, suggesting a shortage effect on high-quality wood. The effect is less pronounced when country-level sawlog exports are high, implying that mainly high-quality sawlogs are exported in the cases in question. For pulpwood, supply shocks tend to decrease pulpwood prices. Strategic logging management and international trade are possible resilience predictors, but their potential is limited and should not be overestimated. Since it is difficult to assess the magnitude by which the changing climate will affect the already increasing disturbance regimes, the results only allow indirect projections to be made about future and larger magnitude events.

The timber industry in Russia under sanctions: Losses and opportunities

The article considers the prospects of the domestic timber industry in the context of sanctions restrictions. Based on the data on average annual trade flows for 2018—2020, the potential damage from trade restrictions is assessed. Particular attention is paid to the fifth package of EU sanctions, which contains the most severe restrictions on trade with Russia for a wide range of forest commodities. The potential loss of income for the Russian timber industry from the ban on exports to the EU is estimated at 3.5 billion dollars. The ban on imports from the EU countries may also be sensitive for the industry, but it should not be regarded as fatal. The possibilities of partial replacement of the deficit of products for a considerable list of goods are shown. At the same time, the violation of free trade in forest products because of sanctions becomes a new turn in the spiral of the global crisis, which began in the pandemic COVID-19. Consequently, the damage to countries imposing sanctions on Russia is also significant. The most affected will be the largest RF trading partners in Europe — Finland and Germany, as well as the Baltic States. A sharp increase in logging in the EU against the background of the energy crisis creates an additional opportunity for the Russian timber complex. The reciprocal nature of economic losses, as well as multiple examples of circumventing sanctions in other industries, suggest that the most likely scenario will be attempts to maintain trade relations while formally implementing the imposed restrictions.

Development of Non-Timber Forest Product Industry in the Context of Trade Globalization: A Case Study in Wuyishan, China

AbstractWith the trend of trade globalization, developing countries have an indispensable role in the global value chain. In China, production and trade of forest products appear to be considerably sensitive in balancing industry development and ecological conservation. Simultaneously, increased trade in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has merged as a new direction for sustainable forestry development. This study explores the effect of the NTFP trade globalization process on NTFP producer capital input using a dataset of 976 oolong tea producers in Wuyishan City, China, from 2008 to 2020. We ran pooled- ordinary least square regression and the results show that the trade globalization process of tea products is a driving force in oolong tea producer capital inputs in Wuyishan City, which increases with forest resources and producer scale. Additionally, our findings reveal that the local government implemented a fiscal policy to promote a sustainable composite model (SCM) in tea production, which includes terrace protection, organic fertilizers, tea-broadleaf symbiosis, and ecological water systems. Given structural growth in demand for tea products driven by trade globalization, the SCM promotion policy enhanced the quantity and quality of oolong tea products based on a harmonious coexistence with nature resulting in a mutually beneficial outcome for the government and producers.Study Implications: Results of our study provide evidence that NTFP trade globalization and diversification can promote the NTFP industry by increasing productive capital inputs by producers and innovatively summarize an environmentally benign solution for the adjustment of the production model of NTFPs. The scarcity of forestland and the social uses of forest resources require embedding sustainable governance into the development of the NTFP industry. With government support, the new model of sustainable NTFP production can serve the long-term planning of rational forest resource use.

The Impact of China's Participation in the Value Chains of its Trading Partners on the Carbon Embodied in the Bilateral Trade of Forest Products

Abstract To recalibrate the connection between participation in global value chains (GVCs) and carbon embodied in trade is of great importance because it provides significant insights about how China's forest products industry should integrate into GVCs and promotes the reduction of carbon embodied in trade. This paper obtains panel data related to the GVC participation of, and carbon embodied in, the trade between China and 43 of its trading partners from 2000 to 2018, and uses fixed effects and quantile regressions to explore the impact of China's participation in the value chains of its trading partners on the carbon embodied in the trade of forest products from the perspective of bilateral trade. It is found that (1) China's participation in the value chains of its trading partners significantly reduces the carbon embodied in forest product trade, especially that of pollution-intensive products (e.g., paper and its products); (2) China's participation in the value chains of high-income countries reduces the carbon embodied in forest product trade; (3) foreign direct investment (FDI) in trading partners weakly suppresses the carbon embodied in the trade of Chinese forest products; (4) the effect on the carbon embodied in the trade of Chinese forest products is only suppressive when China's degree of participation in the value chain is higher; and (5) China's forward participation in the forest product value chains of its trading partners reduces its overall carbon embodied in trade, while the backward participation has the opposite effect.