ATIBT visits TDUK in London

This visit provided an opportunity to discuss a number of topics related to the existing links between professional associations:

Exploring opportunities to strengthen the commitment of the private sector and professional associations of producers and importers to increase trade in legal and sustainable tropical timber, reduce illegal timber trade by improving forest governance and transparency, and harmonize market requirements (EUDR/UKTR) with the national frameworks of producer countries.

Consider international recognition of the Broader Market Recognition Coalition (BMRC). As a reminder, the BMRC represents various tropical countries working together to promote their national sustainable forest management systems globally. By increasing demand for their sustainably sourced timber products, the aim is to encourage sustainable forest management. The founding members of the BMRC are Cameroon, Ghana, Guyana, Indonesia, Liberia, and the Republic of Congo. As other countries join the coalition, its influence on the market will grow, further encouraging sustainable forest management.

Various key activities could be prepared jointly with TDUK, in particular (1) producer-buyer exchange workshops including field visits to promote direct dialogue, (2) technical capacity building for SMEs in certain countries, including training on legality, traceability, and tax compliance, (3) drafting a guide for importers and creating e-learning modules on due diligence, and finally, (4) communication campaigns at events such as Carrefour du Bois.

With specific regard to the market, discussions provided an opportunity to take stock of the issues at stake, highlighting the following points:

1. The state of the UK market post-Brexit 

• A sluggish but strategic market: The overall hardwood market in the United Kingdom is currently struggling. Tropical woods rank third (the figure of 2% has been mentioned), behind European and American hardwoods.
• The change in import flows: Due to Brexit, British importers are importing less and less directly from tropical countries. They now prefer to source their supplies via European platforms (particularly in the Netherlands and Belgium). Companies such as Vandecasteele have set up sales offices in the UK to maintain this commercial link, which has implications for how companies approach EUDR compliance.

2. The growing threat of substitute materials

• The growth of modified and composite woods:  Tropical wood is losing significant market share to cheaper or heavily marketed alternatives.For example, MDF has taken over for baseboards and flooring. For outdoor uses (windows, doors, garden furniture), chemically treated pine or spruce (such as Accoya) or New Zealand pine modified in the Netherlands are used.
• The case of “Tropical Replacement Panels” (TRP): TDUK highlights the emergence of products such as Lumin, a plywood made from eucalyptus and pine plantations in South America. This product is aggressively marketed as a “sustainable” alternative (zero deforestation, control from seed to panel) to specifically replace tropical plywood.
• The railroad tie market: Following policy changes in the United Kingdom, tropical wood ties (such as Azobé) have largely been replaced by plastic/composite alternatives.However, there are still opportunities for tropical wood in large marine engineering projects (TDUK cites the example of Greenheart from Guyana).

3. Solutions for the future: Engineered wood and LKTS (Lesser Known Timber Species)

• The rise of engineered wood: Market players recognize that the future lies in advanced processing. Companies such as CIB and Olam have been cited as investing heavily in engineered wood lines (finger-jointed, glued laminated). This model is a triple win: it generates much more added value, reduces waste to zero (reused in biomass/cogeneration), and perfectly meets the expectations of European importers (long lengths, increased strength).
• Promoting LKTS through use: To get the market to accept new species, the approach must change. Rather than trying to sell a species name (which scares risk-averse buyers), we need to sell a product and technical performance.

4. Contractual tools

Updating standard contracts: TDUK is currently working on revising its standard contracts (such as the Nordic “Noroft” contract). The standard contract for hardwoods has not been updated since 2012. Collaboration is being considered to create new common rules for the tropical timber trade, potentially based on the ATIBT's technical data sheets and “contracts and uses” documents (which specify grading rules, prevent disputes, etc.).

Plans were made to continue ATIBT's support for the tropical timber market in the United Kingdom, following the meeting held on September 25, 2024 with the London Hardwood Club, during which the prospects for tropical timber on the British market were discussed.