In the third quarter, Latvian exports of rough-sawn and planed softwood lumber declined by 14% to 706,951 m³, following single-digit declines in the first (-9%) and second (-1%) quarters. According to preliminary figures published by the Latvian statistics authority, deliveries to Great Britain fell at an above-average rate of 35% to 289,520 m³, or by fourteen percentage points to a proportion of 41% of total Latvian exports. The volume of exports to South Korea, at 19,667 m³, fell 38% short of the previous year‘s figure.
Accumulated over the first nine months, exports declined by 8% to 2.231m m³. Lumber deliveries to Great Britain and the Netherlands decreased by 18% vis à vis the previous year to 941,320 m³ and 112,665 m³ respectively. The statistics authority also recorded double-digit rates of decline in exports to Germany (-21% to 78,143 m³) and South Korea (-43% to 76,667 m³). This contrasted with a 16% increase to 190,530 m³ in deliveries to Estonia. Exports to the USA more than quadrupled to 142,904 m³. A volume of 85,613 m³ was exported to Japan, representing an increase of 20% vis à vis the previous year.
Classified according to range, exports of rough-sawn softwood lumber remained virtually stable, at 1.524m m³. Exports of planed lumber plummeted by one-fifth to 706,477 m³.
