The portion of household furniture made principally of wood is high, and the same is true of household furniture imports. Wood furniture exports from China also reached a new record in 2003, at US$2.7 billion at year-end, and the value of exports in 2004 is expected to exceed prior year levels (Businesswire 2004).

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) projects that Chinese roundwood imports will increase and will be primarily large diameter logs. Softwood imports are expected to rise, but at a slower rate than hardwood imports. Consequently, the proportion of imports accounted for by tropical and temperate hardwoods are expected to increase (USFPL 2000). A similar trend, albeit on a smaller scale, can be expected for other countries of the Pacific Rim, including Vietnam. Within this environment, the

 

United States is also expected to increase its net imports of both hardwoods and softwoods (Prestemon and Abt 2002).

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