Seeing the arrival of timber from different countries to Indian ports as well as a revival of the plantation cycle backed by the arrival of new harvest, the timber scenario is going to keep a balanced and stable rate for wood panel products this year.
It is also going to help stabilize the prices in every region as we are seeing the arrival of timber in the north as well as in Eastern India.
Also opening of new areas like Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, exploration with new species like Cashew, new harvest species for wood panel users is definitely going to keep a stable scenario on the timber front.
We have seen that South India has been largely hovering at around nine to eleven rupees kilograms a year, which is expected to remain on the same level along with the timber.
On the same lines, North India is also expected to remain in the same range Rs 9 to 11 this year, whereas poplar will definitely keep a lower mark, which will help stabilize the timber arrival scenario and availability scenario for wood panel industries.
So more or less we can conclude that for composite boards the timber prices will hover in between 5 to 6 rupees 4.5 to 6 rupees across the country, in terms of eucalyptus, whereas for peelable timber it will be hovering around nine to eleven rupees. The Ply reporter sees a possibility of stabilization of prices within this range.