the timber network

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said last Monday that natural teak forests are declining worldwide and the quality of natural grown teak wood is deteriorating

MyanmarAnalysts report that market demand for both teak and pyinkadoe has fallen and that there is considerable weakness in the market. Some traders supplying the Indian market report a decline in teak purchases by Indian importers, attributing this to price factors

. Analysts admit that while there are adequate stocks of teak available, shipments have slowed. Demand for substitutes and alternative timbers such as like Meranti, Kapur, Merbau and Balau is expected to be sustained because of the lower cost of these timbers

MyanmarAbout 500 h.tons of SG5, SG6 and SG7 grades of teak logs were sold on 10th October by open tender to domestic wood product manufacturers. About 100 h.tons of SG5 were sold at an average price of Euro2084 per h

MyanmarIn mid September there was a further ‘Special Open Tender’ for 920 h.tons of old stock teak logs of various grades (SG7, SG8 and SG9) as well as some teak thinnings held by the Myanma Timber Enterprise. In total 904 h.tons were sold

India Domestic purchasesThe following table presents teak log imports from different countries through Kandla port in the period April 2010 – October 2010. Teak imports through Kandla port in the period April 2010

MyanmarTeak log prices fluctuated with news of possible price cuts in March 2010. Instead, the Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) proposed higher teak and pyinkadoe prices in May

IndiaAuction sales at Government Forest Depots in Gujarat and Central India are continuing and price trends for teak have been reported as firm, this also applies to other hardwood logs

Hardwood log speciesThe Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) April timber sales of natural forest teak increased slightly in volume from March despite of the long New Year holidays

Myanmar Teak Log Production UtilisationExpensive timbers such as padauk, tamalan and thinwin are no longer available in substantial quantities. Myanmar teak is of superior quality as it is sourced from natural forests

MTE list pricesTeak buying for the Thai market is completely stagnant while demand for pyinkado from China and Vietnam was steady through June 2010. India remains the biggest importer of both teak and pyinkado in June 2010

MyanmarThe market situation remains unchanged over the previous month. Apart from India, other markets are quiet. It has been reported that the teak market is good in India especially for grade 7 logs and good quality pyinkadoe logs, while demand for Gurjan logs is sluggish

MyanmarThe monthly Teak sales involve a prior inspection by buyers and the submission of written tenders for logs. The logs are available for inspection at Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) log-yards

MyanmarOn a recent inspection tour of forest plantations Myanmar’s Prime Minister highlighted the abundance of vacant land in the country and how the technical knowhow developed for establishing teak plantations should be harnessed to expand the area under plantations

Auction sales in various depots of Madhya Pradesh continued. The total sales of teak logs were around 4000- 5000 cu.m. The average teak log prices at the latest auctions were as follows