The Global Timber Index (GTI), which monitors the performance of the timber sector across seven pilot countries, has introduced its first specialised index focused on wood-based panels. This launch expands the scope and depth of the GTI, paving the way for the introduction of additional specialized indices in the future.

The GTI is a collaborative effort between ITTO, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and the Secretariat of the Global Green Supply Chains initiative, with more than 200 enterprises and companies also participating. The aim is to facilitate business information and data exchange on the timber trade and promote collaboration among stakeholders in a stable, transparent and predictable business environment.

The GTI-Wood-based Panel Index (WBP) covers various categories, including plywood, fiberboard, and particleboard, to track and monitor trends in the wood-based panel industry across eight GTI pilot countries: Brazil, China, Congo, Gabon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, and Thailand. In 2021, these countries produced a combined total of 210 million m³ of wood-based panels, representing 53% of the global production volume. The WBP is calculated using five diffusion indices—production, new orders, raw material inventory, employees, and delivery time—each weighted according to its impact on the industrial economy.

In April, the GTI-WBP registered 43.1%, significantly below the threshold value of 50%, indicating that the overall prosperity of the wood-based panel industry in the pilot countries shrank in April.

Despite an overall weaker performance across the seven countries, the GTI data revealed some positive developments. In Brazil and Thailand, export order volumes saw a significant increase compared to the previous month. In Malaysia and Congo, the sub-index for existing orders rose, indicating improvement. Additionally, Indonesia’s timber sector experienced an uptick in harvesting and production volumes, while Gabon’s declining trend in harvesting and production began to stabilize.

GTI pilot countries also continued to address issues in sustainable forest management in April. The Indonesian government indicated plans to engage in diplomacy by presenting comprehensive forest-cover data and scientific methodologies to respond to the European Union deforestation regulation, and the country’s Minister of Environment and Forestry said Indonesia has a detailed forest database, Simontana (“National Forest Monitoring System”).

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