German timber trading companies and sawmills sold 139,302 m³ of beech lumber in the 2nd quarter of 2021, representing a growth of 27%.
The volume of exported beech lumber is practically identical to the volume of the 1st quarter. During the first three months of 2021, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) registered a growth of 10% vis à vis the previous year to 139,620 m³.
As in the 1st quarter, in the 2nd quarter beech lumber producers also benefited either from the recovering or ongoing high demand on foreign markets. Regarding exports to China, a 28% growth to 44,202 m³ was recorded for the period from April to June. During the 1st quarter, exports rose by +28% to a volume corrected from 44,160 m³ to 43,704 m³. While assessing beech lumber supplies to China, one should take into account the above-average decrease registered last year. Due to Covid-19, deliveries in April-June of 2020 fell by 19% to 34,461 m³, reaching a low point in such a way. A comparison with beech lumber supplies to China during April-June of 2020, however, demonstrates that the volume of beech lumber sold in the second quarter of 2021 was at an above-average rate. From 2013-2019 exports in the 2nd quarter changed between 37,629 m³ (2016) and 43,912 m³ (2014).