BOSTON, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, today reported that China's timber supply deficit (its imports of logs and the roundwood equivalent of imports of primary products like lumber, wood panels, woodchips and pulp) will jump from 107 million cubic meters in 2009 to 182 million cubic meters  in 2015. This timber dependency forecast is included in a recently published Special Market Analysis Study: China's Timber Supply Outlook, 2011-2015. This report will be an invaluable resource for producers of lumber and wood panels and timberland owners as they gauge how increased Chinese demand for timber will affect their businesses in the short and longer term. This study will provide an integrated overview and analysis of the prospects for China's rapidly developing forest products industry, based on its need for imported raw material and its ability to increase domestic timber supplies. No other report currently provides such a synthesis of product and fiber markets.

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This study also profiles both foreign and domestic companies trying to benefit from China's seemingly insatiable appetite for wood fiber by investing in forest plantations in China. In addition, the report highlights what may become a major new trend in timberland investments, outward investment by Chinese companies seeking to secure wood fiber raw materials overseas.

Robert Flynn, author of the study, commented, "China's timber supply deficit, already as large as Canada's total timber harvest, is forecast to expand by another 55% by 2015. What our customers are asking us is: What form will timber imports be in? And where will they come from? Traditionally, China has mostly imported timber in log form, but in just two years (from 2008-2010), imports of lumber into China more than doubled, and we expect this to continue at a rapid pace through 2015." He continued, "This is good news for Canadian suppliers as they currently own a 50% share of lumber imports going into China, but with this increase in demand, we expect to see other markets looking to capture a bigger share of this business from them."

Study features:

• China's Economic Outlook, 2011-2015
• Domestic Timber Supply - updated forest inventory data; reported timber harvest trends by province; estimates of total wood fiber production; trends in new planting for timber production; new timber harvest quotas under 12th Five-Year Plan; forecast of domestic timber supply.
• Plantation Investment in China - profiles of all major foreign companies and all listed Chinese companies with forest assets in China; focus on species planted and growth rates; impact of forest reform and certification in China; cost of plantation development and estimated returns; Chinese companies acquiring overseas forest resources.
• Imported Timber Supply - volume trends for log and woodchip imports by species and source; lumber and other wood products imports by source; imports of wood pulp by grade and source.
• Timber Demand in China - lumber and wood panel demand by sector; forecast of lumber and wood panel production, imports and consumption; forecast of wood pulp production and imports; industrial roundwood requirements to meet expected demand.
• Price trends for imported logs, lumber and woodchips, by species and source.
• China's Timber Supply/Demand Outlook - forecast of China's imports of logs, lumber and woodchips needed to balance demand and supply; forecast of China's timber supply deficit.

The China Timber Supply Outlook 2011-2015 is available now. For more information, to order or to download a complete prospectus for this study, please visit www.risi.com/chinatimber or contact RISI at wt@risi.com or 866.271.8525 (press option #3).

About RISI

RISI is the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. The company works with clients in the timber, wood products, bioenergy, pulp and paper, tissue, nonwovens, printing and publishing industries to help them make better decisions.

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, RISI operates additional offices throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. More information can be found at www.risi.com.

Contact:
Dan Blenk
Director of Marketing
RISI
4 Alfred Circle, Bedford MA 01730 U.S.A.
Tel: +1.781.734.8942
Email: dblenk@risiinfo.com

SOURCE RISI