Publication Thumbnail

Forest Products Trade Between China & Africa: An Analysis of Imports & Exports

By Kerstin Canby, James Hewitt, Luke Bailey, Eugenia Katsigris and Sun Xiufang
View Publication

Recent reports of China’s efforts to secure access to natural resources in Africa suggest that timber has already become an important traded commodity between China and the African continent. Many hold a general impression that Africa exports a significant and growing amount of timber to China. However, the true magnitude of the China-Africa forest product trade and its trends over time has been poorly documented to date. Greater insight into the importance of Africa within China’s overall forest product trade and the importance of China for each African forest product-exporting nation is needed.