Timber Trade Flows within to and From South America

South America is a net exporter of forest products, with significant trade surpluses for most of these products. Despite the current economic crisis affecting countries worldwide, in the last ten years South America was able to consolidate its position on the international market of forest products. It is important to note that, that position of South America on the global market for forest products is not only a result of vast resources from large areas of native forests (20% of the forests on the planet are found in South America), but also a result of the competitiveness of major timber sector groups that emerged in Brazil and Chile following the development of planted forests. Depending on the products, these two countries cover between 70% and 90% of the exports of wood, timber, wood pulp, paper and cardboard.