$12m of sawn timber sold to China via BUCE

Over 62,000 cubic metres of sawn timber – worth 85.5m Yuans or $12.3m in equivalent – were sold to the People’s Republic of China at a special export trading session held at the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE)

According to BUCE information, the trades became record-breaking both in terms of the amount of completed transactions and in terms of the volume of the resource sold in China. Three Belarusian sellers and thirteen foreign buyers took part in the trading session.

“Special trading sessions differ from regular export trades in that the cost of the lot already includes the delivery of the goods to a particular destination in the country of destination – in this case, China. This means that even if the lot is bought by a non-resident of the PRC, they are still obliged to sell the goods on the Chinese market. In this regard, alongside eight Chinese companies, representatives of five Asian and European countries participated as buyers in the auction. At the same time, it is impossible not to note rather high level of competition. Thus, 3-4 participants applied for some lots while the growth of starting prices reached 4 percent. As a result, residents of China and Singapore purchased 10 lots of sawn timber with a volume of 62,300 cubic metres, i.e., half of all sawn timber put up for auction,” the BUCE press service reported.

Special trading sessions for the sale of sawn timber to China have been held at BUCE since December 2020 with the support of the Belarusian Forestry Ministry. The main goal is to diversify export deliveries of products of domestic woodworking enterprises and increase export earnings through the use of a competitive exchange trading mechanism. Not only organisations subordinate to the Forestry Ministry, but also private woodworkers odder their resources at special sessions.