Recovery in EU wood imports continues in 2019

The total value of EU28 imports of wood products was 20.51 billion euro in 2019, 4% more than in 2018. This followed an increase of 5% to 19.7 billion euro in 2018. In 2019 EU28 import value was at the highest level since 2008 just before the global financial crises.

The rise in imports into the EU occurred despite unfavorable exchange rates and weakening economic growth during 2019, particularly in the second half of the year. According to the EU Winter 2020 Economic Forecast published on 13 February, GDP growth in the EU27 (i.e. excluding the UK) slipped to 1.5% in 2019, down from 2.1% in 2018. A further slight fall to 1.4% is projected for 2020. 

The slowing economy fed through into a 4% decline in the value of the euro against the U.S. dollar last year following an 8% fall the previous year. The British pound dipped to an all-time low against the US dollar and other top currencies in the middle of 2019 as concerns mounted over Brexit, although it did rally to some extent towards the end year.

On the other hand, EU currencies remained reasonably strong relative to currencies in several key Eastern European supply countries, including Ukraine, Russia, and Turkey. These exchange rate fluctuations generally favored EU imports from Eastern Europe and acted as a drag on imports from North America and Asia.  

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