Association Representatives Drew Attention to The Growth in Market Shares

The Austrian timber industry association believes Austria’s sawmills lost considerable market shares on export markets for softwood lumber in 2012. At the press conference at the 52nd “Internationale Holzmesse” in Klagenfurt on 31 August, association representatives drew attention to the growth in market shares held by Finnish and Swedish sawmills on export markets in North Africa and the Middle East. Although the growth rates in Swedish sawmills’ softwood-lumber exports have been decreasing since early summer, not least due to the development in the rate of exchange, Austria’s industry representatives pointed out the expansion that occurred in the first half-year. They believe that export growth of 3.6% in the case of Sweden and 5% in Finnish softwood-lumber exports compared with the reference period of 2011 was at the expense of Austrian sawmills. The Austrian sawmilling industry’s exports in the same period were 11.4% lower than a year earlier. Source: euwid-wood-products