International Wood International Wood 2005 | Page 9

EXPORTBRAS Q What are the top products coming into the U.S. and where do they come from? Overall the top exporting country to the U.S. is Canada – especially in several softwood products. Softwood lumber from Canada continues to be an important commodity for the housing industry despite the U.S. - Canada softwood lumber dispute. We see a lot of imported plywood used in applications from structural to decorative in both softwoods and hardwoods. For softwood plywood, think residential homebuilding and South America. Imported hardwood plywood, platforms, and veneers are used in more decorative applications or interior construction such as kitchen cabinets, furniture, recreational vehicles, and manufactured housing, and come mostly from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Africa. We’re also seeing a growing market for hardwood lumber, flooring, and decking products from Europe, Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia. Mouldings, veneers, fiberboard and a multitude of semi-manufactured products are being imported to satisfy the healthy housing and remodeling market that we are enjoying in the United States. Q Spializing in hardwood and softwood products from Brazil. We offer a unique oortunity for large olalers and distributors to source direly from leading producers. • LUMBER • HARDWOOD FLOORING • HARDWOOD DECKING • STAIR TREADS • HARDWOOD MOULDINGS • SOFTWOOD MOULDINGS • EDGE GLUED PANELS • PLYWOOD How are you answering your customers concerns regarding legal, sustainable products? I share the desire to sustain the beauty and environmental values that tropical forests bring to our lives. I’ve spent much of my life in that environment, and have always emerged renewed and refreshed. Tropical and temperate forests benefit when we encourage the sustainable man- agement and use of wood. Using wood helps preserve forests because their value is increased and there is less likelihood of land clearing for agriculture or urban devel- opment. I am sad to say that Brazil is losing large areas of its Amazon forest to soybean and other agricultural development. EXPORTBRAS BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA TEL: [phone] FAX: [phone] [email protected] IMPORTED WOOD 9