China imports more timber in 1st quarter of 2005

China reported a 4.75 percent year- on-year increase in timber imports in the first quarter this year due to the rapidly growing investment in the fixed assets, the Beijing-based China Construction News reported.

According to the report, the country imported about 8.63 million cubic meters of log, veneer, fiberboard, plywood and flakeboard during the January-March period, 390,798 cubic meters more than the same period of last year.

It also said that in the first quarter, China imported 6.88 million cubic meters of timber, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.74 percent.

Meanwhile, the price of the imported timber also rose from 133. 79 US dollars per cubic meter to 145.87 dollars per cubic meter, up 9.03 percent from the same period of 2004.

In the first quarter of this year, China's investment in the fixed assets saw a 26 percent year-on-year increase.

Insiders predict that the increased timber imports and rising prices can only be brought under control when the state further adopts macro-control measures to halt the overheating economy in the second quarter of the year.

Source: Xinhua