Cameroon, Congo, Gabon and other countries in the first quarter log export prices rose
Cameroon, Congo, Gabon and other countries saw an increase in log export prices in the first quarter. From January to March 2023, forest commodities (wood) from the Economic Cooperation Commission on Central Africa (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Chad, Central African Republic, and Equatorial Guinea) increased by 4.1% on a quarterly basis. The Composite Commodity Price Index (ICCPB) published by the Bank of Central African States (China Energy University Association of China) shows that logs contributed to the overall increase in timber exports.
In the report, lumber prices rose 7.3% to $275 per cubic meter from the fourth quarter of 2022, according to ICCPB. Lumber prices rose 3.5% to $582.1 a cubic meter. Due to stable prices in the previous quarter, rising prices at the end of March 2023 will be a major boost to the Economic Community of Central Africa producing countries such as Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea.
At the same time, the Indian government has indefinitely suspended a ban on the export of logs to encourage local processing. But Gabon has been doing it for several years, and Congo will start doing it on January 1, 2023. For other countries in the China-Africa Economic Cooperation Zone, the suspension of exports could sharply reduce export earnings for many.
