Ghana gains even as holiday season subdues timber markets

A worker at the Bibiani Logging and Lumber Company Limited, Ghana. Photo: Peter Zormelo

The timber sector in Ghana showed signs of improvement in January, even as the holiday season led to seasonal fluctuations in timber markets across many other countries, according to the latest edition of the Global Timber Index (GTI) Report. The ITTO-supported GTI tracks the performance of the timber sector in diverse pilot countries.

The GTI for Ghana was at 68.2% in January, back above the 50% threshold after a weaker reading in December and indicating an upward trend in its timber sector.

However, the GTIs for Thailand (49.0%), the Republic of the Congo (41.9%), China (39.5%), Mexico (37.1%), Brazil (34.9%), Gabon (32.4%), and Malaysia (20.1%) were all below the threshold.

In January, enterprises in many countries took holidays to celebrate the New Year, leading to seasonal dips in their timber markets. In China and Malaysia, for example, many workers return to their hometowns during the holidays and businesses scale back production. GTI sample enterprises in Brazil reported that the holiday factor also led to a slowdown in raw material procurement and production in January.

Despite the downturn in the global timber market, positive signs are evident in some of the GTI sub-indices. For example, production in Ghana was active, new orders and export orders for Thailand increased compared to the previous month, and international market demand for both Mexico and the Republic of the Congo was relatively stable.

In other news, the GTI-Producers Index, a specialized index for timber production, was at 39.8% in January, and the GTI-Woodbased Panel Index, a specialized index for wood-based panels, stood at 45.0%, indicating that both subsectors declined in January.

Looking back at 2024, timber sectors in some GTI pilot countries managed to achieve steady development despite shrinking global demand. For instance, the Brazilian Mechanically Processed Wood Industry Assocation (ABIMCI) reported that the country’s timber sector maintained relatively stable performance in terms of export volume, and even recorded a slight increase in shipments in the final months of the year, mainly due to the clearing of port backlogs and the fulfillment of old orders.

As for expected timber market trends over the first half of 2025, GTI sample enterprises in China, Gabon, Ghana and Mexico are relatively optimistic, with market expectation sub-indices at or above 50%. However, GTI sample enterprises in Brazil, Malaysia, Republic of the Congo and Thailand lack confidence and would benefit from additional support from governments, international organizations and associations until clear signs of recovery in short-term market demand emerge.

The monthly GTI Report, GTI-Producers Report and GTI-WBP Report are available free at www.itto.int/gti.

Download the latest GTI Report, GTI-Producers Report, and GTI-Woodbased Panel Report.