Asia’s dominant position in the global panel demand and supply cannot be challenged, but in the future the real game changes will be raw material supply security, uncertain and high cost energy, access to the state-of-art technology and best-in-class industry practices.
The demand for wood panels originating from Asia Pacific accounted for more than half of the global demand in 2010, by far overtaking Europe who was the historical leader.
Seventy-six per cent of the 2010 Asian Pacific demand came from China.
China is set to experience the highest growth rates in the next decade making the gap between that country and the Western world even more pronounced but it has insufficient domestic wood fibre supply, and massive demand for energy, which created a huge challenge for local panel producers.
For a number of industry leaders Asia Pacific remains earmarked as the strategic direction, however the region continues to be both an opportunity and a huge challenge for investors.
Pöyry Management Consulting has decided that it is the right time to publish the new Pöyry Viewpoint report entitled ‘The Asia Pacific Panel and Surfacing Industry – Investment Hot Spots.’
The report will be ready this year and it is based on an extensive program of direct dialogue with key industry players.
Dr George Goroyias, the newly appointed head of wood products for Asia Pacific at Pöyry said that the report aims to address key questions for investors and to provide direction on growth opportunities in the Asia Pacific region.
It also identifies challenges and how best to address them. China will continue to be a major industry paradigm shift, driven not only by its booming demand but also by re-examining the sustainability of traditional trade flows of raw, semi-finished and finished products to and within the APAC region.
“The anticipated increase in China’s panel production is going to put enormous pressure on regional resources and energy to satisfy this demand,” said Rudolf van Rensburg, head of land and forest for Asia Pacific at Pöyry Management Consulting.
“Commonly South East Asia is seen as the platform to grow incremental volumes but the reality is that land availability will seriously constrain possibilities. What we are seeing in the market at present is that CEOs are contending with diverse strategies to address sustainability and profitability concerns. The future of fibre supply security rests with those companies bold enough to take strategic supply chain and resource positions.”
