The Asia Pacific region is, naturally, viewed as a most significant forested region and active participant in forest products production and trade. The above broad summary, however, reveals that the Asia Pacific region has been and continues to be a deficit forest products region whether assessed on a physical wood volume or value basis. Table 33 provides a summary of wood production and flows for the region as a whole relative to trade with the rest of the world. As noted earlier, the broadest measure of total roundwood shows that the Asia Pacific region has been a net importer, with net imports of 26.6 million cubic meters in 1980, a high of 34.1 million cubic meters in 1991, and a deficit of nearly 32.8 million cubic meters in 1994. A modest positive trade balance for tropical non-conifer industrial timber is more than offset by a deficit in volume for other non-conifer industrial timber as shown for the period 1991-94. Likewise, net trade in conifer industrial roundwood reveals a continuing volume deficit of almost 17.5 million cubic meters for 1992-94. Asia Pacific has maintained a positive but declining net trade balance for non-conifer sawnwood with the rest of the world,, yet has seen a growing net deficit in conifer sawnwood. While enjoying a net positive balance for non-conifer sawnwood of 1.5 million cubic meters in 1994, the region as a whole had a deficit in trade volume of conifer sawnwood of 9.7 million cubic meters.
Wood panel production has yielded a positive trade balance but one that has steadily fallen since 1985, from 4.5 million cubic meters to 712 thousand cubic meters in 1994. Wood pulp together with paper and paperboard accounts both show large and growing deficits. Wood pulp net trade was -8.1 million metric tons in 1994, with paper and paperboard in deficit by -7.1 million metric tons.
The Asia Pacific trade accounts for all forest products by value is shown in Table 34 by both sub-region and for the region as a whole. Detailed balances by country are included in Appendix 20. The combined Asia Pacific overall regional summary in Table 34 illustrates the trade relationship with the rest of the world, while the sub-regional balances illustrate the differences within the Asia Pacific Region. Overall, the Asia Pacific trade accounts with the rest of the world was in deficit by US$ 18.1 billion in 1994, an increase from US$ 5.9 billion in 1985.6 For the sub-regions, Oceania-S. Pacific has moved from a moderate deficit in trade (US$ -329 million) in 1990 to a positive trade balance of US$ 1 billion for 1994. Insular Asia, as the dominant exporter sub-region of Asia Pacific, had a growing surplus which increased from US$ 3 billion in 1985 to almost US$ 7 billion in 1994 after a high of US$ 7.9 billion in 1993. North Asia, on the other hand, has had a long term negative account for forest products trade, increasing from US$ 8.1 billion in 1985 to almost US$ 24.4 billion for 1994. Surging imports for North Asia have not been matched by growth in exports, either for the sub-region or from the rest of the Asia Pacific Region.
6 Due to technical difficulties, net value trade for North Asia and Insular Asia is not included in Table 34 at this time. Thus the 1980 Asia Pacific Total should be used and interpreted with caution.
Table 33. Summary: Production and Net Trade of Forest Products by Volume
Asia Pacific Region - Summary: Production and Net Trade of Forest Products by Volume (1000 CUM) |
||||||||||
FAOSTAT |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
|||
Total Roundwood (1000 CUM) |
||||||||||
|
Production |
891,265 |
976,498 |
1,065,824 |
1,083,502 |
1,103,470 |
1,117,072 |
1,131,816 |
||
|
Net Trade |
-26,602 |
-30,596 |
-32,080 |
-34,139 |
-29,756 |
-33,444 |
-32,788 |
||
|
Apparent Consumption |
917,867 |
1,007,094 |
1,097,904 |
1,117,641 |
1,133,226 |
1,150,516 |
1,164,604 |
||
Non-Conifer Roundwood (1000 CUM) |
||||||||||
|
Production |
722,311 |
790,415 |
870,616 |
886,365 |
902,276 |
908,365 |
919,001 |
||
|
Industrial Roundwood |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
Production |
157,475 |
161,406 |
175,882 |
178,176 |
180,547 |
172,920 |
169,823 |
|
|
|
Net Trade |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tropical |
|
|
|
2,188 |
3,058 |
1,808 |
486 |
|
|
|
Other |
|
|
|
1,212 |
-965 |
-1,123 |
-1,083 |
|
Apparent Consumption |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
Industrial |
|
|
|
174,776 |
178,454 |
172,235 |
170,420 |
|
|
|
Other |
|
|
|
708,189 |
721,729 |
735,445 |
749,178 |
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
|
882,965 |
900,183 |
907,680 |
919,598 |
|
Conifer Roundwood (1000 CUM) |
||||||||||
|
Production |
168,955 |
186,085 |
195,210 |
197,138 |
201,195 |
208,708 |
212,816 |
||
|
Industrial Roundwood |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
Production |
93,856 |
104,525 |
105,956 |
106,121 |
108,696 |
114,383 |
116,645 |
|
|
|
Net Trade |
|
|
|
-20,436 |
-17,733 |
-17,090 |
-17,480 |
|
|
|
Apparent Consumption |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Industrial |
|
|
|
126,557 |
126,429 |
131,473 |
134,125 |
|
|
|
Other |
|
|
|
91,017 |
92,499 |
94,325 |
96,171 |
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
|
217,574 |
218,928 |
225,798 |
230,296 |
Sawnwood - Non-Conifer (1000 CUM) |
||||||||||
|
Production |
44,641 |
49,135 |
52,928 |
52,710 |
51,449 |
52,065 |
51,033 |
||
|
Net Trade |
3,813 |
3,133 |
1,121 |
949 |
1,382 |
354 |
1,535 |
||
|
Apparent Consumption |
40,828 |
46,002 |
51,807 |
51,761 |
50,067 |
51,711 |
49,498 |
||
Sawnwood-Conifer (1000 CUM) |
||||||||||
|
Production |
50,527 |
50,787 |
51,854 |
47,242 |
46,161 |
49,925 |
49,537 |
||
|
Net Trade |
-4,681 |
-4,740 |
-7,894 |
-7,849 |
-8,218 |
-9,603 |
-9,663 |
||
|
Apparent Consumption |
55,208 |
55,527 |
59,748 |
55,091 |
54,379 |
59,528 |
59,200 |
||
Wood Panels (1000 CUM) |
||||||||||
|
Production |
19,453 |
22,299 |
29,093 |
34,144 |
40,418 |
44,192 |
50,659 |
||
|
Net Trade |
2,926 |
4,484 |
2,942 |
2,641 |
2,497 |
1,621 |
712 |
||
|
Apparent Consumption |
16,527 |
17,815 |
26,151 |
31,503 |
37,921 |
42,571 |
49,947 |
||
Wood Pulp (1000 MT) |
||||||||||
|
Production |
14,370 |
15,260 |
18,977 |
19,687 |
19,564 |
19,749 |
20,149 |
||
|
Net Trade |
-3,118 |
-3,926 |
-4,891 |
-5,627 |
-6,291 |
-6,830 |
-8,124 |
||
|
Apparent Consumption |
17,488 |
19,186 |
23,868 |
25,314 |
25,855 |
26,579 |
28,273 |
||
Paper & Paperboard (1,000 MT) |
||||||||||
|
Production |
31,008 |
39,554 |
58,391 |
61,912 |
64,408 |
69,078 |
74,513 |
||
|
Net Trade |
-2,514 |
-3,317 |
-4,091 |
-3,981 |
-5,221 |
-5,796 |
-7,051 |
||
|
Apparent Consumption |
33,522 |
42,871 |
62,482 |
65,893 |
69,629 |
74,874 |
81,564 |
Table 34. Summary: Total Forest Products Trade by Region (Value)
Asia Pacific - Summary: Total Forest Products Trade by Region (MLN US$) |
||||||||
|
1980 |
1985 |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
|
South Asia Region |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Imports |
327 |
372 |
757 |
782 |
843 |
482 |
618 |
|
Exports |
52 |
25 |
52 |
58 |
48 |
20 |
42 |
|
Net Trade |
-275 |
-347 |
-705 |
-724 |
-795 |
-462 |
-576 |
Continental Asia Region |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Import |
222 |
269 |
1018 |
1183 |
1398 |
1417 |
1686 |
|
Export |
158 |
178 |
411 |
717 |
729 |
767 |
675 |
|
Net Trade |
-64 |
-91 |
-607 |
-466 |
-669 |
-650 |
-1011 |
North Asia Region |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Import |
0 |
9559 |
19989 |
21351 |
22931 |
26697 |
28943 |
|
Export |
0 |
1459 |
3480 |
4111 |
4716 |
4197 |
4559 |
|
Net Trade |
0 |
-8100 |
-16509 |
-17240 |
-18215 |
-22500 |
-24384 |
Insular Asia Region |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Import |
0 |
878 |
1961 |
2169 |
2472 |
2087 |
2884 |
|
Export |
0 |
3913 |
7107 |
7793 |
8607 |
10026 |
9802 |
|
Net Trade |
0 |
3035 |
5146 |
5624 |
6135 |
7939 |
6918 |
Oceania Region |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Import |
876 |
978 |
1694 |
1452 |
1556 |
1650 |
1856 |
|
Export |
739 |
612 |
1365 |
1637 |
1847 |
2373 |
2856 |
|
Net Trade |
-137 |
-366 |
-329 |
185 |
291 |
723 |
1000 |
Asia-Pacific Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Import |
1425 |
12056 |
25419 |
26937 |
29200 |
32333 |
35987 |
|
Export |
949 |
6187 |
12415 |
14316 |
15947 |
17383 |
17934 |
|
Net Trade |
-476 |
-5869 |
-13004 |
-12621 |
-13253 |
-14950 |
-18053 |